Volvo approached by US group October 4, 2009 China’s Geely Automotive is thought to be readying itself for a takeover battle in the race to snap up Volvo, the loss making Swedish car manufacturer, from owner Ford. Geely, who has been in talks with Ford since September, is now facing competition from a US led consortium, fronted by Michael Dingman, a former Ford [...]
Japanese ex-finance minister dies October 4, 2009 A former Japanese finance minister was found dead at his home yesterday. Shoichi Nakagawa, who had to resign this year after appearing to be drunk at a G7 press conference, is not thought to have been the victim of foul play. An autopsy is expected.
Lloyds denies bonus plans October 4, 2009 Lloyds Banking Group has refuted allegations that it plans to pay multi-million pound bonuses to its top managers. The rebuttal comes after it was alleged that the bank planned to match the pay of Royal Bank of Scotland’s executives. Lloyds claims that its remuneration committee is in the very early stages of a review and [...]
Portsmouth poised for takeover October 4, 2009 Portsmouth football club is set for a new takeover after owner Sulaiman Al Fahim has said he is to sell a majority stake in the club to a consortium spearheaded by Saudi tycoon Ali Al Faraj. Arab businessman Al Fahim only completed his protracted takeover of Pompey a few weeks ago, but has struggled to [...]
Tucker proposes bank levy October 4, 2009 Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker yesterday said that a new levy should be in place to force banks to cough up for the cost of future crises . Tucker said that if the government is required to provide rescue funds in the future, there should be a system in place to force banks [...]
OTC reforms to be softer October 4, 2009 FIRMS that trade in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives look set to win an important exemption under plans to overhaul the market, according to draft legislation that is working its way through the US Congress. Lawmakers in the US had planned to introduce rules that would have seen all standardised OTC derivatives processed through clearing houses in [...]
Barclays eyes Standard Life banking arm October 4, 2009 BARCLAYS is set to enter exclusive talks which could see it snap up Standard Life’s banking division, after rival suitors walked away. The bank, led by chief executive John Varley, is expected to be granted exclusivity by the insurer later this week after it expressed strong interest in the arm, which has been valued at [...]
HSBCsells NYCoffice for $330m October 4, 2009 HSBC yesterday agreed to sell its New York headquarters to Israel’s Koor Industries and Property and Building for $330m (£207m). Koor and Property and Building are both subsidiaries of Israeli holding company IDB Holding, which said it would receive $45m in rental income in the first year while operating expenses will total $18.5m. The bank [...]
BAE prepared for fine October 4, 2009 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems is prepared to pay a record breaking fine over bribery allegations, sources close to the situation said yesterday, if “compelling evidence” indicates the charges against it are true. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said last week it wanted to prosecute Europe’s biggest defence contractor over allegations the firm used bribery and [...]
Mittal set to pull out of deal October 4, 2009 Steel company ArcelorMittal is close to pulling out of a $20bn (£12.5bn) plan to build two steel plants in India due to difficulties buying land, its chairman and biggest shareholder Lakshmi Mittal said. Delays in persuading farmers and others to sell land for the development in the states of Jharkand and Orissa were holding up [...]
