Google agrees book peace deal October 4, 2012 ■ Google and a group of publishers have agreed to a settlement over making digital copies of books, capping seven years of litigation involving the search giant’s mission to become the world’s biggest online library. Google and the Association of American Publishers said yesterday that US publishers can choose to make available or choose to [...]
Credit Suisse under investigation October 4, 2012 ■ US federal and state authorities are investigating Credit Suisse over mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the bank, it was revealed yesterday. The Justice Department and the New York Attorney General are among those probing Credit Suisse’s actions, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s [...]
Lamprell execs face the axe October 4, 2012 ■ Three executives are to stand down from oil rig maker Lamprell after its fourth profit warning since the spring. Chief executive Nigel McCue is to stand down alongside chief financial officer Jon Cooper and chief operating officer Chris Hand. Former chief executive Peter Whitbread has been appointed interim chief executive, and will remain until [...]
Bond helps to push carmaker Aston Martin to a pre-tax loss October 4, 2012 ICONIC carmaker Aston Martin swung to a loss in 2011 as financing costs overshadowed rising sales, according to the luxury carmaker’s annual accounts. The British firm, taken over by Kuwaiti investors in 2007, posted a pre-tax loss of £33.1m for last year, from a pre-tax profit of £6.9m in 2010. Operating profits fell by three [...]
Ex-UBS trader Adoboli hailed as trading star October 4, 2012 KWEKU Adoboli, the former UBS trader accused of losing the Swiss bank $2.3bn (£1.4bn), was a “star” of the prop trading floor where he worked, a former colleague said yesterday. Christophe Bertrand, one of four traders who made up the desk where Adoboli worked, also said the accused former trader could be “unfriendly, unpleasant, superior” [...]
Standard Chartered denies criticism from biggest investor October 4, 2012 STANDARD Chartered last night insisted that its largest investor, Singapore-based fund Temasek, misunderstood British corporate governance when it abstained from voting on several board members this year. The 18 per cent shareholder is known to favour firms with a large proportion of non-executive board members. “Temasek has assured us that their abstention does not imply [...]
Draghi: Plan to buy bonds has already helped October 4, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) can only maintain its independence by imposing strict conditions on any bond market support for troubled governments, its president Mario Draghi insisted yesterday. The outright monetary transactions (OMT) plan will see the ECB consider buying troubled governments’ bonds, as long as the country agrees a programme of economic reforms and [...]
Fed minutes reveal unease over quantitative easing programme October 4, 2012 SEVERAL senior members of the US Federal Reserve are concerned over the risks surrounding its huge asset-buying stimulus programme, according to minutes of its September policy meeting released last night. The Fed announced last month that it would kick off a third spell of quantitative easing (QE3) at a rate of $40bn (£24.7bn) per month, [...]
Top regulator wants banks to lend more to help economy October 4, 2012 MORE LENDING will help the economy and so help the financial system become more resilient, top regulator Andrew Bailey said yesterday, as he argued in favour of temporarily lower capital and liquidity requirements. The head of the Prudential Business Unit and member of the Financial Policy Committee said that although he wants banks to keep [...]
Rajoy attacked by central bank over fiscal plan October 4, 2012 THE crisis in Spain intensified yesterday, as ministers faced attacks from within and outside government, though a bond auction was successful, and yields edged down. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was undermined by Spanish central bank governor Luis Maria Linde, who rubbished his budget plans, calling the growth and tax revenue estimates overly optimistic. And [...]
