Identity cards will now be voluntary June 30, 2009 THE government has dropped plans to bring in compulsory biometric identity cards for airport workers and revealed the multi-billion pound scheme will be voluntary for all Britons. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the government now planned to go ahead with the introduction of the £30 cards, which contain personal details, fingerprints and a facial image, [...]
UK authorities freeze Stanford assets June 30, 2009 THE UK prosecuting authorities yesterday froze $100m (£60.2m) linked to the alleged financial fraudster Allen Stanford within five hours of a request from the US Department of Justice, officials stated yesterday. Stanford spent Monday night in a Texas jail after prosecutors told a federal judge he would likely flee the country rather than face life [...]
Lehman risk head speaks out June 30, 2009 DAVID DeMuro, the head of compliance at Lehman Brothers during the US investment bank’s spectacular collapse last year, has admitted nobody at the firm heeded warning signs it was taking on unsustainable risks. Speaking out for the first time since the bank failed, sending devastating ripple effects through the global economy, he said he should [...]
Yell falls as it commences talks on debt June 30, 2009 SHARES in Yell Group dropped yesterday after it said that it had started talks over the restructuring of its £4bn debt – just eight months after it renegotiated its covenants – and reported worsening trading conditions. The struggling Yellow Pages publisher said that falls in revenues and core profit were accelerating, and that it planned [...]
Crdit Agricole in CACEIS deal June 30, 2009 French bank Crédit Agricole said yesterday it had completed a deal to buy 35 per cent of fund administrator CACEIS from investment bank Natixis. The transaction raises the lender’s stake in CACEIS to 85 per cent, with Natixis rettaining the remainder. CACEIS is one of the world leaders in investor services, with around ¤2.2 trillion [...]
Germany tweaks bad bank offer June 30, 2009 The German government has reached an agreement that will improve the terms of a “bad bank” deal allowing lenders to clear their balance sheets of toxic assets. The state initially set a cut-off point for the valuation of toxic assets of 31 March 2009, but has revised it to 30 June 2008, before the Lehman [...]
UBS may close offshore accounts June 30, 2009 US clients of Swiss bank UBS will be blocked from accessing secret accounts unless they transfer their money onshore or close the account, sources said yesterday. The bank is moving to exit its offshore services for American clients amid accusations from the US authorities that the bank helps its citizens hide their money from the [...]
DO YOU THINK HMV CAN CONTINUE TO STORM THE RETAIL CHARTS? June 30, 2009 TONY SHIRET CREDIT SUISSEHMV has delivered clean full year pre-tax profits of £63m, slightly ahead of consensus. However, we remain concerned about HMV’s increasing exposure to the highly cyclical video games market as well as the more price competitive technology product areas. JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNT For the coming year, we believe the group [...]
New directors for AIG at subdued annual meeting June 30, 2009 AMERICAN International Group (AIG) got a new slate of government-backed directors at a subdued annual meeting yesterday, effectively revamping its board after the insurer’s $180bn taxpayer bailout. The meeting attracted far fewer investors than in years past and wrapped up in less than an hour, with the outcome of company proposals all but assured by [...]
Carpetright suffers a 72 per cent drop in profits with little sign of recovery June 30, 2009 CARPETRIGHT, Britain’s biggest carpet retailer, yesterday said normal trading conditions would not resume for at least 12 months as it posted a 72 per cent slump in full-year profit and slashed its dividend. The group reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £17.2m in the year to 2 May. This compares with analysts’ consensus forecast of [...]
