ABN Amro profit rises on lower charges November 19, 2010 ABN AMRO, the state-owned rump of the former leading Dutch-based international bank, has reported a jump in underlying net profit thanks to higher interest income, lower charges and a gain on its debt buy-back. However, after some 1.4bn euros (£1.2bn) in costs arising from the mandatory sale of part of the Dutch commercial bank, separation, [...]
GM pulls off record float November 18, 2010 GENERAL MOTORS closed 3.6 per cent higher yesterday after pulling off the biggest IPO in US history. The stock closed at $34.19, up from its float price of $33 a share. Frantic trading throughout the day saw more than 100m shares change hands, out of the total of 478m placed, while financial advisers struggled to [...]
How to turn Cameron’s vision of an entrepreneurial decade into a reality November 18, 2010 DAVID Cameron has called on the nation’s “doers-and-grafters, inventors and entrepreneurs” to save us from our troubled finances. He’s not wrong. According to research commissioned by Enterprise UK, a rise of just one per cent in self-employment rates could boost the UK’s GDP by around 1.5 per cent and add approximately £22bn to the UK economy. [...]
Jain not a shoe-in at Deutsche November 17, 2010 SENIOR Deutsche Bank executives and members of the supervisory board – which will select the next chief executive — have signaled it is not a foregone conclusion that Anshu Jain will get the job. “The captain of the ship needs to give a direction and detect icebergs, but he doesn’t have to row the boat,” [...]
Barclays Private Equity will buy division in future profit exchange November 17, 2010 MANAGEMENT at Barclays Private Equity (BPE) will buy out the banking giant’s private equity division in a deal involving no up-front cash. Ownership will be transferred in exchange for a share of BPE’s future earnings over a period of several years, according to the Financial Times. Barclays and BPE were both unavailable for comment last [...]
Northern and Greencore agree merger November 17, 2010 FOOD retailers Greencore and Northern Foods revealed plans to merge yesterday, in a deal that will produce one of the biggest chilled food players in the UK. The firms, responsible for Goodfella’s pizzas, Fox’s biscuits and the Weight Watchers range, will be rebranded Essenta once the proposed tie-up is complete in March 2011. Management said [...]
Blackstone and TPG line up to bid for troubled Egg bank November 17, 2010 BLACKSTONE and TPG are believed to be preparing a bid for US lender Citigroup’s online bank Egg. Citigroup bought the unit in May 2007 for £546m from British insurer Prudential. However binding offers are expected to fall well short of that level, at around £300m. Barclays bank is also believed to have an interest in [...]
Taylor Wimpey sees profits at top end of market views November 16, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey said it expects profit to be at the high end of estimates this year thanks to stable sales, while a £950m refinancing deal will give the firm more flexible trading conditions next year. The company has an order book worth £883m, down 8.4 per cent on last year, though the firm said [...]
K1 founder charged with fraud for Ponzi scheme November 16, 2010 HELMUT Kiener, founder of German hedge fund group K1, is being charged with fraud, forgery of documents and tax evasion more than a year after he was arrested in a multi-million-dollar investigation. He is accused of having swindled investors out of about €345m (£293.6m) with an elaborate Ponzi scheme, the public prosecutors’ office in Wuerzburg, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 16, 2010 Barclays Corporate Barclays Corporate has appointed a new head of financial institutions. Matt Tuck will return to the bank where he started his career, having worked for the last eight years for Deutsche Bank. In his new role, he will be responsible for enacting a new stage in the expansion of the bank’s financial institutions [...]