Geithner: Pact agreed on raising fresh capital for the World Bank April 25, 2010 WORLD Bank members have agreed to pour more capital into the lender and give developing countries a greater voice in running the bank, US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday. “We can feel proud that we have concluded agreements on a transformative financial and governance reform agenda, along with new capital for the World Bank [...]
Gloves off as Goldman ups SEC defence April 25, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs at the weekend distanced itself even further from the man at the centre of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud case, publishing a raft of damaging personal emails to demonstrate differences of opinion within the bank. Goldman’s retaliatory move came just hours after a Senate subcommittee released a number of potentially explosive email [...]
Barclays in line for strong profit haul April 25, 2010 BARCLAYS will this week continue the bumper first quarter earnings trend set by the major US banks, with profits set to be buoyed by declining impairment charges and a strong start to the year in investment banking. Barclays is expected to post first-quarter pre-tax profits of between £1.8bn and £2bn when it unveils numbers on [...]
ITV could make a surprise bid for its rival channel Five April 25, 2010 ADAM CROZIER may kick off his reign at ITV with a bid for rival broadcaster Five. It is thought ITV, the UK’s largest commercial station, is considering an acquisition of the loss-making channel to bolster its commercial audience share. Despite attracting eight per cent of this audience, Five has struggled to convert it into revenue. [...]
Barclays April 25, 2010 AS oxymorons go, “good credit crisis” is right up there with “classy strip club” and “luxury studio flat”. But compared to rivals, Barclays has emerged from the near meltdown of the financial sector in fine fettle. Over the last seven years, top line income has grown by a compound annual growth rate of 18 per [...]
Ireland to buy 35pc of BoI April 25, 2010 The Irish government is on the brink of buying up a 35 per cent stake in the troubled Bank of Ireland as part of a €3.4bn (£2.96bn) emergency fundraising. Ireland’s biggest bank by market value needs to raise the capital to satisfy new regulatory requirements and compensate for writedowns on discounted loan transfers to the [...]
Dubai forced to invest in UK firms April 25, 2010 The Dubai sovereign wealth fund controlled by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been forced to pump millions into troubled UK ventures. Dubai International Capital (DIC) invested heavily in UK private equity but has been stung after banks requested cash injections for firms including Travelodge and Alliance Medical, which are struggling under the weight of [...]
Ineos quit UK after Vat snub April 25, 2010 Chemicals group Ineos quit its UK base after ministers snubbed a request for help with a liquidity crisis. The £30bn firm was badly stung when the recession hit its sales. It requested, among other things, a deferral on VAT payments to help it weather the storm. The firm estimates its relocation to Switzerland will save [...]
Hugh Osmond bidding for UK building firm April 25, 2010 PIZZA-to-pubs entrepreneur Hugh Osmond has made a takeover offer for Crest Nicholson that values the UK housebuilder at £300-350m. Horizon Acquisition, Osmond’s quoted vehicle, put the takeover plan to a meeting of Crest’s 40 owner banks on Wednesday. The potential deal is part of bold plans by Osmond to consolidate the recession-hit housebuilding sector. According [...]
Forth Ports to seek deal intervention April 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S last remaining ports company Forth Ports will this week ask the Takeover Panel to issue a “put up or shut up” deadline to its suitor, the Northstream consortium, it is understood. The consortium, made up of investors Arcus and Peel Group and RREEF, an arm of Deutsche Bank, is expected to walk away. A [...]
