RBS in talks for business bank May 16, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland is in exclusive talks to buy Whiteaway Laidlaw, which is a tiny Manchester-based business bank. The part-nationalised lender is working on a bid through its private equity arm to buy the bank, which is a subsidiary of the Manchester Building Society. Banks such as Whiteaway Laidlaw are usually attractive to new [...]
Household wealth up fivefold May 16, 2010 Household wealth in the UK has risen five-fold over the past 50 years, according to a report from the Halifax. The total worth of households’ property, savings and investments, was £6.3 trillion at the end of last year. The average value per household of £237,000 is three times the £73,000 in 1959. The number of [...]
Discount website snapped up May 16, 2010 Buyout vehicle Groupon has acquired money-saving website MyCityDeal for an undisclosed sum. Groupon recently raised $135m through a fundraiser and has been speculatively valued at about $1.35bn. MyCityDeal offers discounts on restaurants and cinema tickets in 16 European countries and employs over 600 people. In the UK, the company offers daily deals in 17 cities.
City looks to REITs for new building sites May 16, 2010 ANALYSTS are hoping for a wave of new property developments as three of Britain’s largest listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) report their year-end numbers this week. British Land, Great Portland Estates and Land Securities will all reveal increases in the value of their portfolios, according to City consensus. The trio of positive results will [...]
Intandem Films secures new Hilary Swank project May 16, 2010 INTANDEM FILMS, the AIM-listed movie financing firm, will this morning announce a new project starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. The company will co-produce and sell “Dreams of a Dying Heart”, a harrowing story about a female soldier who survives a helicopter crash, with New York-based Killer Films and Laureate Films in Los Angeles. The [...]
Lagarde plays down sharp stock sell-off May 16, 2010 A SHARP sell-off on European stock markets on Friday took place amid thin trading volumes and was not a huge concern, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said in an interview with France Soir newspaper released yesterday. “What happened on Friday should not be overestimated.” she was quoted as saying, adding that the falls came partly [...]
Battle for Wall St reaches final stage May 16, 2010 WAHT is being billed by proponents as the biggest shake-up of Wall Street since the great depression could go through the senate this week as politicians desperately haggle over the future of the US financial system. A series of new measures promise to reform many Wall Street practices. Proposals for the new bill include: • Setting [...]
US needs support to stop jobs crisis: Obama economist May 16, 2010 The US economy has begun to climb out of the worst downturn since the 1930 Great Depression but still needs additional steps by the federal government to stem a crisis in the job market, a senior economic adviser to President Barack Obama said yesterday. “What we need now is not the withdrawal of support, but [...]
BROWNE IN THE FRAME FOR WHITEHALL May 16, 2010 LORD Browne, the former chief executive of oil giant BP, is said to have been approached by senior figures in the new coalition government. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats want Browne to take up a “super-director” post coordinating a drive to improve efficiency across the Whitehall departments.
Swiss Re fights break-up plans May 16, 2010 Walter Kielholz, chairman of insurer Swiss Re, yesterday spoke out against the proposals of Switzerland’s “too big too fail” commission, saying it would be unwise to split up banks. Kielholz, who also sits on the board at Credit Suisse, told a paper that splitting up banks could lead foreign regulators to resort to retaliatory measures, [...]
