AIG is at war with ex-chief June 15, 2009 AIG began a legal fight with former boss Maurice Greenberg in a New York federal court yesterday, in a bitter fight over disputed assets worth $4.3bn (£2.6bn). Greenberg, chairman of privately-held Starr International, is accused by AIG of snatching the assets unlawfully in 2005. He is due to take the stand to testify this week. [...]
US equities fall on interest-rate fears June 10, 2009 US stocks fell last night on worries that rising interest rates could put a damper on consumer and business spending, but stocks pared losses late in the session on a bond-market rebound. The market had extended losses after a 10-year Treasury note auction sparked a sell-off in bonds, pushing yields briefly above 4 per cent [...]
Texas lifts Nasdaq but Dow stays flat June 9, 2009 THE Nasdaq rose yesterday after an improved outlook from Texas Instruments lifted technology stocks, but gains on other indexes were limited as plans by big banks to repay government bailout funds raised concerns whether the move would help the economy recover. Shares of Texas Instruments jumped 6.4 per cent to $21.03 after it raised its [...]
Paulson loses on Barclays short position June 4, 2009 PROMINENT hedge fund manager John Paulson has abandoned his fund’s short position on Barclays, losing an estimated £100m in the process. The loss will be particularly keenly felt because New York-based fund Paulson closed its position just a day before Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation opted to offload 1.3bn shares in Barclays, pushing the [...]
New dawn at Chrysler and GM in the US June 1, 2009 CAR giant General Motors (GM) finally filed for Chapter 11 yesterday, as President Barack Obama said his government’s plan for the carmaker was viable and would see the business rise out of bankruptcy quickly. When GM emerges from the largest-ever bankruptcy filing in US manufacturing history, the debt-heavy company will be majority owned by the [...]
Rising yields on US debt dents stocks May 27, 2009 US stocks dropped yesterday as rising yields on US government debt fuelled concern that businesses and consumers could face higher borrowing costs, which could hamper an economic recovery. The decline was broad-based, with manufacturer 3M and International Business Machines among stocks leading a 2 per cent fall on the blue-chip Dow. The S&P and Nasdaq [...]
BLANK’S CHELSEA APPEARANCE SETS CITY TONGUES WAGGING ON HIS HEIR May 18, 2009 ANY idea that the downturn would affect corporate hospitality at the Chelsea Flower Show, traditionally one of the biggest, most important corporate schmooze-fests of the year, was smashed to smithereens at last night’s gala preview opening. Chelsea veterans including Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, ICAP billionaire Michael [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 BIG, burly, loud and infectious: Mark Bristow, the founder and chief executive of Randgold Resources, looks every inch a mining man. The 6’3” South African is in good form as he bounds into the gold miner’s functional London office in the shadow of the Savoy Hotel (it is undergoing a 16-month £100m refit – the [...]
Brain-drain? It’s nothing but a blip September 10, 2008 Lots of City workers are heading for Dubai at the moment, but don’t worry: London will lure them back soon, says Max Orbach We all know somebody who has re-located to Dubai, Singapore or even Moscow in the last few months, as the British economy has wobbled, house-prices have fallen and inflation has risen. While [...]
Atticus sees £2.7bn losses as downturn hits it hard September 2, 2008 Atticus, the high-profile New York hedge fund involved in the failed Barclays bid for ABN-Amro, has lost more than $5bn (£2.8bn) this year after its funds were battered by steep falls in financial stocks. The activist fund saw assets under management fall to around $14bn at the end of July, down from $20m last year [...]