Disastrous for Labour, good for the Tories June 7, 2009 IT was a disastrous night for Labour, and an even worse one for Gordon Brown, now a lame duck prime minister who cannot even appoint the cabinet of his choice. But Labour’s crushing defeat – it got just 21.3 per cent of the vote in London, was beaten in Wales by the Tories for the [...]
There’s value in the City June 7, 2009 LONDON has become the best-value real estate hub in the world, thanks to the severe drop in the value of City of London offices, according to the annual Money into Property report published by consultancy DTZ. DTZ said that the period between 2008 and 2010 will see the worst cumulative returns for UK property since [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 7, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday Telegraph WIGLEY TO ADVISE ADVENTThe former chairman of Merrill Lynch’s European operations and a respected City figure, is joining the private equity firm Advent International to identify investment opportunities across the financial services industry. Wigley will become a part-time operating partner at Advent, which is sitting on a large cash-pile after raising [...]
FSA fines up by 514 per cent June 7, 2009 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has delivered on its vow to toughen up on market abuse, fining companies and individuals a record-breaking total of £27.3m in the year to 31 March, a 514 per cent increase on the previous year. Over the period, the regulator prohibited 46 individuals or companies from carrying out regulated activity [...]
Premiership and NBA hold talks June 7, 2009 Representatives from the Premier League and US basketball organiser the NBA have held talks in London to discuss a potential marketing and commercial link-up. The world’s two most popular sports leagues are understood to be identifying ways in which they can work together as they expand internationally. The NBA is keen to discuss the matter [...]
Barclays eyes up a stake in BlackRock June 7, 2009 BARCLAYS was last night awaiting an offer from Bank of New York Mellon for Barclays Global Investors (BGI), as US firm BlackRock edged towards the brink of a cash-plus-equity deal for the asset management unit. Barclays and BlackRock are in talks over a deal that would see the bank merge BGI with BlackRock and take [...]
Board reshuffle puts pressure on BoA’s Lewis June 7, 2009 BANK of America (BoA) has appointed four outside directors to bolster its board’s banking and financial expertise, after US regulators pushed the nation’s largest bank to improve governance after a federal bailout. The shake-up increases pressure on chief executive Ken Lewis, who was stripped of his role as chairman in April after a surge in [...]
Deloitte on the touchline as Setanta heads for full-time June 7, 2009 STRUGGLING sports broadcaster Setanta could be forced to go into administration this week, as discussions with investors and rights holders have failed to secure a rescue deal. Accountancy firm Deloitte is on standby to flip the switch on the Irish broadcaster, which has been struggling for months to raise new capital to enable it to [...]
Sugar keen to keep TV role June 7, 2009 SIR ALAN Sugar will take his lead from Andrew Lloyd Webber – created a Tory peer in 1997 – when he hosts major BBC show The Apprentice while serving as a Labour peer, aides to the tycoon remarked to City A.M. yesterday following Tory complaints. A spokesman for Sugar, set to be made Lord Sugar [...]
Government debt raising aided by low interest rates, says BIS June 7, 2009 GOVERNMENTS can continue raising long-term debt in the knowledge that central banks’ monetary policy will keep short-term yields anchored at low levels, according to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) study. Central banks and treasuries have forged closer working relationships since the financial crisis erupted almost two years ago and will continue to maintain these [...]
