Fresh blow for Lehman after Korean investor warned off August 26, 2008 Lehman Brothers, the investment bank beset by worries over asset sales and the future of boss Richard Fuld Jr, was dealt another blow yesterday after potential investor Korea Development Bank (KDB) was warned off an approach. South Korea’s top financial regulator Jun Kwang-woo, warned KDB that it should take a “cautious approach”, after the state-run [...]
Never mind the credit crunch. What time’s the match? August 15, 2008 With the Premiership football season due to kick off tomorrow, London’s top-flight clubs appear to be immune to the ravages of the credit crunch, with some hopeful of attracting more fans than ever before. The stars of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Fulham take to the pitch in the knowledge that fans are [...]
Rights issue to fall flat at troubled B&B August 15, 2008 Bradford & Bingley’s attempt to raise cash could see a take up as low as 8 per cent Bradford and Bingley faces a meagre take-up of its rights issue when it closes at 11am today, with shareholder support expected to be minimal. Shares in the troubled mortgage lender have skirted the 55p issue price for [...]
ING profits hit as asset fears build August 14, 2008 ING, the Dutch bank and insurer, reported a slide in second-quarter earnings of 25 per cent yesterday, as it yielded smaller returns on its investments. Net profit fell to €1.9bn (£1.5bn) from €2.56bn a year earlier, beating market expectations but signalling a downturn in the fortunes of its investments. CEO Michel Tilman said: “We are, [...]
UBS rings the changes as it reports a loss August 13, 2008 UBS announced wholesale changes to structure and personnel yesterday, including a new chief financial officer, as it posted an interim loss of Sfr358m (£173m), bringing the curtain down on a dire results season for banks. The Swiss bank posted writedowns of $5.1bn on risky investments, mitigated by a tax credit of $2.8bn. It also took [...]
Listings fall trims profits at UK broker August 13, 2008 Collins Stewart, the British broker that is currently the subject of takeover discussions, reported an 82 per cent slump in first-half profits yesterday, which it blamed on poor performance from its capital markets unit. Pre-tax profit nosedived from £52m to £9.6m and the interim dividend was slashed from 2.5p to 1.2p, as chairman Terry Smith [...]
Kazakhmys gets blocking stake in ENRC August 12, 2008 Kazakhmys, the Kazakh copper producer, has upped its stake in Kazakh rival Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) to 25.02 per cent, effectively preventing its biggest rival from making a hostile bid for it. The purchase of 35.7m shares, at an average of 1,126p each for a total £402m, will give Kazakhmys the power to veto [...]
UPS plans to deliver £8bn bid for TNT August 11, 2008 American delivery service United Parcel Service (UPS) is understood to be preparing a €10bn (£7.8bn) bid for Dutch rival TNT, in a long-heralded move that would create a new global delivery giant. Early-stage talks about a deal are thought to have been ongoing in the last few days, after years of speculation about a takeover [...]
UBS set for £2.7bn more credit crunch write-offs August 11, 2008 UBS IS expected to write off €3.5bn (£2.7bn) in assets damaged by the credit crunch tomorrow, as the interim banking results season limps to a close. The Swiss banking giant, which had significant exposure to US subprime mortgages, has endured a year of gloom, posting writedowns of $37bn since the beginning of the credit crunch [...]
Collins Stewart profits slump as bidders circle August 11, 2008 Profits at Collins Stewart, the broker, are expected to have more than halved, according to analysts awaiting the group’s interim results tomorrow. Collins Stewart, which is in takeover discussions, could report profits as low as £25m, from £52m in the first half of 2007. The credit crunch has hit small cap brokers hard, with many [...]
