Fidessa beats profit forecast but warns of slowdown ahead February 13, 2012 BRITISH trading software firm Fidessa yesterday announced that its pre-tax profit had risen to £43.2m in 2011, up from £40m a year earlier. The results beat analysts’ predictions, despite the tough trading conditions caused by a wave of insolvencies and consolidation in the sector. Revenue for last year was up six per cent at £278.3m [...]
EU plan risks final salary pension deals February 13, 2012 EUROPEAN plans aimed at protecting pension pots will destroy final salary schemes in the UK and cost businesses hundreds of billions of pounds, a consortium of industry and labour bodies warned yesterday. In a letter to EC boss Jose Manuel Barroso, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and National Association of [...]
Coryton attracts 40 suitors February 2, 2012 UK REFINERY Coryton has attracted more than 40 interested parties following the insolvency of its owner, Swiss refining group Petroplus and some of them are “very credible,” its administrator said yesterday. “There have been over 40 expressions of interest from the speculative to the highly credible,” said Katherine Howbrook, a spokeswoman for PwC. “There have [...]
Being a company director is now a high risk gamble January 31, 2012 WITH the debate on executive pay raging, the wider question that everyone should be asking is: Why would anyone want to be a director in the first place? Over time, directors’ duties have been aggressively extended and however well they do their job, directors are at risk of criminal and other serious liabilities quite apart [...]
Insolvency reform plans sent packing January 26, 2012 CONTROVERSIAL legislation governing “pre-pack” administrations will remain in place after the government abandoned an 18 month campaign to reform the law following strong lobbying from the insolvency industry. The government said it was “not convinced” that new legislation would be worthwhile despite complaints that the agreements can wipe out the claims of unsecured creditors while [...]
The music stops for UK breaks on bankruptcies January 25, 2012 THE singer Kenny Rogers once sang “you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run”. While Rogers was singing about a gambler, he could just as easily have been singing about the Irish people’s attitude to their bankruptcy regime. Increasingly the people [...]
Petrol supply under threat as Petroplus files for insolvency January 24, 2012 THE OWNER of the Coryton oil refinery, Petroplus, yesterday filed for bankruptcy, putting 1,000 jobs at risk as well as petrol supplies in the south east. The refinery in Essex, which supplies 20 per cent of fuel for south east England, halted sales and told staff it was not sure when supplies would restart. The [...]
Greek talks on haircuts to resume January 17, 2012 TALKS between Greek authorities and private holders of the government’s debt will continue today after breaking down in acrimony last week, although fears the near-bankrupt nation will default are growing. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) – which represents private bondholders – yesterday confirmed it will return to the table. A haircut to avoid default [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 11, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BANK OFFERS TRADES FOR EUROZONE SHORTING Credit Suisse is offering its hedge fund clients off-the-shelf products that allow traders to replicate hypothetical gains made by betting against European stock indices that include equities covered by Eurozone short selling bans. The bank has made five shortable baskets “optimised” to track leading European indices as [...]
It’s time for the FSA to get on top of the bankruptcy of MF Global – and right away January 11, 2012 FIVE years ago we decided to set up our firm’s brokerage accounts in the UK, as we believed we would be fully protected here. After all, there was no precedent of clients ever suffering any write-offs on their accounts as a result of a broker’s bankruptcy. Today we find ourselves regretting that decision. The Lehman [...]