Hugh Osmond looks to buy firms in debt December 13, 2009 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur who built up Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is amassing a £1bn war chest to begin a spending spree on distressed companies. Sun Capital, Osmond’s private equity firm, is already in the process of raising capital for the venture, and is understood to be preparing for a stock market listing early [...]
Insurer MetLife says 2010 earnings will beat forecasts due to cost cutting December 7, 2009 METLIFE, the largest publicly-traded US life insurer, yesterday forecast fourth-quarter and 2010 earnings that could beat average Wall Street expectations, helped by cost cuts, improved investment returns and higher revenue. But it said it did not see a return to historical growth levels until 2011 or 2012. In a statement issued just before the start [...]
Habitat set for a new home as management plans to go it alone December 6, 2009 HABITAT, the home furnishing retailer is set to be placed in the hands of its management after a lengthy battle for control with restructuring specialists Hilco. It is understood that new investors have agreed to back chief executive Mark Saunders and finance director Sebastian Drouillet to turn around the business after it was put up [...]
WAR ON BANKS AFTER BONUS ROW EXPLODES December 3, 2009 POLITICIANS rounded on bankers yesterday amid fears a windfall tax on bank profits is on the cards for the pre-budget report next week. The concerns came as a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), released today, revealed for the first time that the government has spent £117bn bailing out the banks. Lord Myners, the [...]
Treasury pays 107m in fees December 3, 2009 THE Treasury expects to have spent £107m by April 2010 on legal and financial advisers to sort out the banking crisis, a report from the National Audit Office revealed today. The legal firm Slaughter and May tops a table of fees paid for services with a bill of £32.9m, followed by Credit Suisse with £15.4m. [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 30, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, ending at session lows, dragged back by weakness in oil majors and banks on lingering anxiety over the impact of Dubai’s debt problems. By the close, the FTSE 100 was down 55.05 points at 5,190.68, its lowest closing level for three weeks. The blue chip index [...]
Hung parliament would fuel UKcrisis November 30, 2009 IT was certainly impeccable timing. A note yesterday from Morgan Stanley predicting fiscal carnage in Britain in the event of a hung parliament was released just hours before a ComRes opinion poll revealed a slump in the Tory vote. The chances of no party gaining overall control of the House of Commons had suddenly increased; [...]
CENTRAL BANK ACTS TO HALT DUBAI ROUT November 29, 2009 The United Arab Emirates’ central bank has issued emergency credit facilities to banks in the region amid mounting fears that Dubai’s debt crisis could contaminate the rest of the Middle East. The bank – based in Abu Dhabi – issued a statement yesterday saying it “stands behind local and foreign banks operating in the country” [...]
RISK TRADE IS STILL IN PLACE DESPITE DUBAI November 29, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMTHE shocking news that Dubai is on the brink of default is a reminder that the financial crisis still has a few tricks up its sleeve and the global economic recovery is far from firmly established. Economic data suggests that next year will see only slow growth in the US, Eurozone, Japan [...]
DUBAI DEBT WORRIES ROCK WORLD MARKETS November 26, 2009 DEEPENING fears about Dubai’s debt problems shook European stock markets yesterday, with the FTSE 100 index suffering its worst one-day loss since March. The FTSE fell by 3.2 per cent, losing more than 170 points to 5,194.13, while leading indices in France and Germany were also down sharply. Wall Street was closed for Thanksgiving. Banking [...]