Companies: forget re-elections July 18, 2010 Companies are being urged to ignore guidelines that require them to annually re-elect board members. Three of the UK’s biggest investors – Hermes, Railpen and the Universities Superannuation Scheme – have written to 700 companies urging them not to comply. In the letter, they warn that annual election of directors can undermine collective decision making [...]
New HQ plans under threat at JP Morgan July 18, 2010 CANARY Wharf is in danger of being left with a yawning gap in its skyline in the years to come if JP Morgan decides to pull its plans to move into new headquarters under construction on the banks of the Thames. The future of the Riverside South building was cast into doubt again at the [...]
Fabulous Fabrice Tourre set for a fight to clear his name July 18, 2010 FABRICE Tourre, the man named in the SEC allegations of fraud against Goldman Sachs, is today expected to file a defence document in court insisting that he will continue to fight to clear his name. Tourre’s decision comes in spite of Goldman’s move last week to reach a settlement with the regulator, under which it [...]
Hungary loan talks with IMF fail July 18, 2010 Hungary faces a fall in its currency and a surge in financing costs due to a failure to reach agreement with lenders on its economic plans and it will need to reach a deal to retain the trust of investors. Talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU ended prematurely on Saturday without [...]
GDF bid for International Power July 18, 2010 French energy giant GDF Suez is reportedly working on a £6.4bn cash bid for Britain’s International Power in the latest twist in a long-running courtship. Sources say GDF met advisers NM Rothschild, Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas over the move and that it also had the backing of the French government, its 35-percent shareholder. Talks [...]
Selfridges Christmas in August July 18, 2010 Selfridges department store in Oxford Street is getting ready for Christmas early – 145 days before the big day. In the earliest start ever for the store, the Christmas shop will open on 2 August, allowing organised shoppers to start stocking up on festive decorations including pre-lit trees, crackers, fairy lights or even a £500 [...]
Dormant bank cash will fund charity work July 18, 2010 THE Prime Minister will today announce plans to fund charitable projects using hundreds of millions of pounds that is lying dormant in unclaimed bank accounts. David Cameron will detail proposals to siphon off money from accounts that haven’t been used in the last 15 years or more, and use the cash to fund schemes in [...]
Osborne starts to assess plans for huge cuts July 18, 2010 THE CHANCELLOR and other senior ministers will this week start trawling though departmental spending proposals, after Whitehall was ordered to slash its budget by up to 40 per cent. The public expenditure committee (PEX), which is chaired by George Osborne, will pore over the departmental proposals to see if ministers and officials have risen to the [...]
Final call for Goldtrail hols July 18, 2010 THE LAST of Goldtrail’s holidaymakers are making their way home this week as administrator Begbies Traynor begins to wind up the failed budget holiday operator. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said all flights back from Greece and Turkey will operate as normal today through charter airlines such as Onur Air, Turkuaz and Viking, with flights [...]
US vice president says reform of Wall St ends uncertainty July 18, 2010 THE passage of Wall Street reforms by Congress helps the US economic recovery now under way by easing uncertainty that had been holding back investment, Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday. Biden said financial regulation legislation passed on Thursday would encourage businesses that were hesitant about expanding to move ahead. “The very uncertainty they had [...]
