What the other papers say this morning – 21 November 2013 November 20, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Obama snubs Fannie-Freddie plan The White House came out against a proposal by a group of hedge funds to take over and recapitalise the core operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US mortgage finance giants, saying it risked creating two new “too big to fail” institutions. Gene Sperling, the White House [...]
GM profit up on good US demand and improvement across Europe October 30, 2013 GENERAL Motors posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit yesterday as the US carmaker’s new lineup of pickup trucks and other revamped models boosted North American results, and revenue rose in Europe for the first time in two years. The strong showing in North and South America and the improvement in Europe offset the decline in Asian markets [...]
Ford expects European profit to come in 2015 October 24, 2013 FORD Motors boosted its full-year global profit outlook yesterday as its European picture brightened and stronger overseas demand sparked better-than-expected third-quarter results. The US automaker now expects 2013 pre-tax profit to top last year’s $8bn and losses in Europe to be less than in 2012. Finance chief Bob Shanks said Ford sees the European unit [...]
PSA shares slump on reports of capital talks with Dongfeng October 14, 2013 SHARES in PSA Peugeot Citroen fell as much as 10 per cent yesterday after reports it was preparing a €3bn (£2.5bn) capital increase in which Chinese partner Dongfeng and the French state would secure stakes in it. A draft agreement, which Peugeot hopes to conclude this year, would envisage state-owned Dongfeng Motor and the French [...]
Westpac to buy Lloyds’ Australian operations as bank exits the country October 11, 2013 Lloyds Banking Group says that it has agreed the AU$1.55bn (£0.9bn) sale of its Australian operations to Westpac Banking Corporation, as the bank begins to exit the Australian market. (Release) Lloyds will be selling Capital Finance Australia, a motor and equipment finance business, and the Australian division of corporate lender BOS International. The sale includes [...]
Lloyds offloads Australian firms October 10, 2013 LLOYDS Banking Group has agreed to sell its Australian operations to Westpac Banking Corporation for £900m, the state-backed lender said this morning. The sale, which further reduces Lloyds’ overseas footprint, will see the bank offload motor asset finance provider Capital Finance Australia and corporate lending business BOS International. The sale marks the end of Lloyds’ [...]
Peugeot in talks to sell a stake to its Chinese partner Dongfeng October 9, 2013 PSA PEUGEOT Citroen yesterday confirmed it is in talks over potential new overseas partnerships, after reports that Chinese group Dongfeng Motor may buy a 30 per cent stake in the troubled French car manufacturer. The discussions also cover new funding for the firm’s development, a spokesman said. “Peugeot confirms it is studying new industrial and [...]
Goldman Sachs buys half of car insurer Hastings in £150m deal October 8, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs’ merchant banking division yesterday bought half of British motor insurer Hastings in a deal that values the company at £700m. The Sussex-based insurer has previously made a point of handing shares to its staff, meaning thousands of employees are now set to enjoy a bumper payday. Goldman’s merchant banking arm will finance the [...]
Chesnara buys closed life fund from Direct Line October 8, 2013 INSURANCE-focused takeover specialist Chesnara said it would buy Direct Line’s domestic closed life insurance business for about £39.3m in cash. Chesnara, which has been looking to acquire life insurance funds in Western Europe for the past year, said the deal would be partly financed by a new loan facility of £73.8m from the Royal Bank [...]
GM to buy back preferred shares September 23, 2013 General Motors said yesterday it would buy back just under half of its preferred shares held by the United Auto Workers healthcare trust for about $3.2bn, cutting costs by financing the deal with lower-cost debt. To finance the purchase of 120m of the Series A preferred stock from the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust at [...]