Philips ups third quarter profit October 12, 2009 Dutch electronics giant Philips beat expectations and posted a net profit of €176m (£165m) in the third quarter of this year, treble the profit reported for the same period last year. Philips said in January it would cut 6,000 jobs worldwide to cope with the global slow down.
Extension plea for NatEx bid October 12, 2009 The Spanish-led consortium bidding for British bus and rail operator National Express is expected to seek a third extension to the formal offer deadline for its £765m bid, according to a source close to the group. Britain’s Takeover Panel had already delayed the deadline by three weeks until 16 October following a request from Spain’s [...]
FSA launches Cattles probe October 12, 2009 Britain’s financial services regulator, the Financial Services Authority, is investigating possible market abuse by former directors of subprime lender Cattles, which has £700m of bad debt, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.
FSAplanning self-cert ban October 12, 2009 CITY regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is expected to outlaw self-certification mortgages that don’t require borrowers to show proof of income. The FSA is to end the multibillion-pound “self-cert” industry by bringing in a legal requirement that will force lenders to insist on proof of income before handing out loans. The ban is expected [...]
City brokers ready to swoop to buy up rival KBC Peel Hunt October 12, 2009 INDEPENDENT City brokerages are circling KBC Peel Hunt after the stockbroking and corporate finance firm’s Belgian banking owner KBC put the division up for sale last month. Collins Stewart, Numis and Panmure Gordon are all understood to have given careful consideration to the idea of buying the firm, while the most likely buyer is thought [...]
FTSE100 hits a one-year high as S&P 500 puts in best day of ’09 October 12, 2009 THE FTSE100 index of blue-chip UKstocks closed at a one-year high yesterday as the energy and mining sectors rallied strongly. Firmer commodity prices and growing optimism on the corporate outlook and global economy were behind the boost. The FTSE 100 closed up 48.30 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,210.17, its highest close since September [...]
BANKS SET FOR LLOYDS FEES PAYOUT October 12, 2009 Six investment banks stand to split up to £300m in fees if Lloyds Banking Group, led by chief executive Eric Daniels, goes ahead with its proposed £25bn cash call. Swiss bank UBS and BoA Merrill Lynch are set to act as lead underwriters while Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove and HSBC will act as [...]
Vantis wives embroiled in Revenue case October 12, 2009 THE wives of two leading City accountants have been caught up in the tax controversy surrounding Vantis, the publicly-quoted accountancy group. City A.M. has learnt that Shirley Faichney and Nicola Perrin will both face charges of “cheating Her Majesty and the public revenue,” charges that they reject. A spokesman yesterday told City A.M.: “We can [...]
Barclays seeks third party for CLO portfolio October 12, 2009 BARCLAYS will look to a third party if it sells £4bn worth of Collateralised Loan Obligations (CLOs), analysts said yesterday. The bank is understood to be weighing up a plan to rid itself of the CLOs in a bid to calm investors worried by the risky nature of the investments and remove the potentially volatile [...]
SIGNED, SEALED, UNDELIVERED October 12, 2009 IN A FURTHER blow to Royal Mail’s reputation, the department chain and supermarket-owner John Lewis yesterday said it would use other firms to deliver its wares. The firm said: “We have ensured that postal strikes don’t affect our customers by switching the business to other carriers.” Royal Mail is considering a series of rolling strikes [...]
