Holliday to join board at BoA September 21, 2009 DUPONT chairman Charles Holliday is expected to be added to Bank of America’s (BoA) board of directors. The bank’s directors were due to agree the appointment in a board meeting, in which they were also due to be briefed on options if the bank’s chief executive Kenneth Lewis is charged with civil fraud. Last week, [...]
Fed prepares to detail new bonus regime September 20, 2009 THE US Federal Reserve is to unveil a four-pronged approach to reforming remuneration structures, as the G20 world leaders prepare to meet in Pittsburgh this Friday, with pay and bonuses high on the agenda. America’s central bank, chaired by Ben Bernanke, aims to link pay to long-term performance, as part of an international drive to [...]
The world’s biggest hotelier won’t let the downturn stop expansion September 20, 2009 At 6’3”, the chief executive of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Andrew Cosslett has broad shoulders – and with the battering the travel sector has taken over the last year it is just as well. Not surprisingly, the economic downturn has hurt the world’s largest hotel group, which boasts 630,000 rooms across more than 4,300 hotels [...]
Grand slams no longer just for the top two, says Cash September 17, 2009 FORMER Wimbledon champion Pat Cash believes Juan Martin del Potro’s shock US Open success is a sign that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s grand slam stranglehold is slipping. Before this year’s visit to Flushing Meadows, Federer and Nadal had enjoyed a near monopoly at the slams, winning 17 of the previous 18 events. But 20-year-old [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 17, 2009 BANKING and energy stocks fuelled a 0.8 per cent gain for the FTSE 100 by close yesterday, up for a fifth straight day, as sentiment on the outlook for the global economy improved further. Britain’s blue chip index closed up 39.82 points at 5,163.95, its highest close since late September last year, having added 1.6 [...]
Temasek sees revival after markets rally September 17, 2009 SINGAPOREAN wealth fund Temasek said yesterday that it had recouped most of the losses on its portfolio due to rallying markets and was now in a position to do new deals. Chief executive Ho Ching said any dip in markets could be a buying opportunity for the $122bn (£74.2bn) investment firm, which is still open [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 17, 2009 ORACLEBarclays Wealth expressed concern over Oracle’s second-quarter results, after first quarter software sales came in below expectations on Wednesday. It said that sales of databases were weak in Europe and Asia as businesses continue to cut investment in projects. It added that management maintained its guidance. OLD MUTUALWhile many insurance sector constituents have seen their [...]
DTZ says trading is in line with expectations September 17, 2009 Commercial property agent DTZ yesterday told shareholders it was trading “in line with expectations”, two months after reporting an annual pre-tax loss of £35.1m. Chairman Tim Melville-Ross yesterday said that the group’s £50m cost cutting programme had accelerating and “savings were well advanced”. Melville-Ross said: “The global economic crisis and resulting unrelenting pressure on global [...]
Blackstone poised to snap up half of BritishLand’s Broadgate complex September 17, 2009 PROPERTY investment firm British Land is poised to complete the sale of half of its £2.2bn City office complex Broadgate to US private equity house Blackstone. The two firms were last night thrashing out the terms of the deal, which will see Blackstone enter into a joint venture with British Land. Blackstone will pay just [...]
Q & A September 16, 2009 Q.WHY HAS BARCLAYS SPUN OFF THESE ASSETS?A.According to Barclays finance director Chris Lucas, the sale will reduce the bank’s exposure to potential deterioration of the assets and give it access to “stable risk-adjusted returns for shareholders over time”. Q.DOES THE SALE REDUCE THE BANK’S RISK PROFILE?A.Not really. Although the bank will be less exposed to [...]