Rolls-Royce to spend 300m July 28, 2009 ROLLS-Royce is pumping £300m into four new UK manufacturing sites over the next five years. The jet engine maker will receive £45m in state grants to help fund the expansion, which will create or secure 800 jobs. The money is part of a £150m government investment package aimed at helping manufacturers take advantage of new [...]
House prices gain in June July 28, 2009 HOUSE prices have risen for the first time month-on-month since January last year, according to the Land Registry’s latest survey. In the latest sign of stability in the housing market, homes in England and Wales rose in value in June by 0.1 per cent to £153,046 on average, the authoritative survey found. The survey said [...]
Accounting not to blame for crisis July 28, 2009 Accounting methods were not to blame for the financial crisis, according to the Financial Crisis Advisory Group that was set up by the US and international accounting standards bodies. The group said it “seems clear” accounting was not a “root cause” of the crisis, and that “fair-value” accounting did not contribute.
Santander eyes Brazil arm listing July 28, 2009 Spanish banking giant Santander is thought to be planning a stock-market listing of its Brazilian arm that could raise as much as $3bn (£2.6bn). Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and UBS are advising on the plans to float around 20 per cent of the division, which would create one of the biggest listed banks [...]
Informa cost cuts boost margins July 28, 2009 Business publishing and events group Informa said it is trading in line with expectations yesterday, thanks to aggressive cost cuts that boosted margins. It said it may exceed last year’s adjusted operating profit margin of 23.1 per cent, as registrations for its conferences and courses are now stabilising.
Kingman loss is a huge blow to Brown July 28, 2009 THERE is a great anecdote about John Kingman, the civil servant who yesterday shocked the City by announcing his resignation as CEO of UKFI, the holding company for state-owned banks. Back in 1994, the 25-year old Kingman, still fresh out of Westminster School and Oxford University, was working as private secretary to the financial secretary, [...]
Coffee Republic snapped up July 28, 2009 Coffee Republic, the chain that was on the brink of collapse after sales plummeted in the downturn, is to be bought by Arab Investments. It is thought the private property firm that is building the Pinnacle skyscraper in London will today confirm the buyout, with an eye to expanding the brand.
SJ Berwin lawyer drowned self July 28, 2009 A top lawyer threw herself into the Thames after struggling with the demands of motherhood and a City career, an inquest heard yesterday. Catherine Bailey, a partner at SJ Berwin who specialised in banking and commercial law, may have been suffering from postnatal depression, the inquest heard. She was found dead near Richmond bridge six [...]
UBS client in US admits tax fraud July 28, 2009 A US client of Swiss bank UBS pleaded guilty yesterday to using Swiss bank accounts to hide more than $8m from US tax authorities. And he said a Swiss government official received $45,000 to help cover up the fraud. Jeffrey Chernick of New York admitted using using a UBS account for tax fraud, as he [...]
IBM unveils giant SPSS buyout July 28, 2009 IBM unveiled plans to buy business analytics company SPSS yesterday for $1.2bn (£730m) in cash, to better compete with rivals Oracle and SAP in the growing field of business intelligence. The offer, under which SPSS shareholders would get $50 a share, could trigger mass consolidation in the industry.
