GM will stick with plan to cut Opel costs November 8, 2009 General Motors (GM) will probably stick to a plan to cut costs at Opel by 30 percent after deciding to restructure the European subsidiary itself rather than sell it, Bob Lutz, a GM executive set to become Opel’s chairman, said yesterday. “The restructuring plan developed at the end of last year is still the basis [...]
GMAC posts third-quarter loss on its mortgage loans after housing crash November 4, 2009 GMAC Financial Services, a US lender that has received $12.5bn ($7.54bn) in government assistance, posted a third straight quarterly loss yesterday as its mortgage business continues to reel from the housing market collapse. The third-quarter net loss for Detroit-based GMAC was $767m, compared with a loss of $2.5bn a year earlier. GMAC’s auto finance unit [...]
Umeco chief sees sales hit due to lower demand November 4, 2009 SUPPORT SERVICESUMECO, the group which provides parts for wind turbine blades, Formula One team cars and big commercial airplane makers, said yesterday its half-year profits slumped. Pre-tax profits hit £6.1m for the six months to end of September, down from £11.6m in the same period last year, as its composites arm was hit. Chief executive [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VODAFONE’S GHANA DEAL ATTRACTS SFO INTERESTThe UK Serious Fraud Office has contacted Vodafone about its controversial deal to buy a controlling stake in Ghana’s third-largest mobile phone operator. The SFO has not launched an investigation into the deal, but is monitoring allegations of irregularity that have been made in Ghana. INDIAN SURGE BENEFITS [...]
CIT agrees pre-pack bankruptcy November 1, 2009 US-based commercial lender CIT Group filed for bankruptcy last night, as the global credit crisis left it unable to fund itself and the recession left it with too many bad loans. CIT’s creditors have already approved the century-old lender’s pre-packaged plan, which will result in them owning the company. Most bondholders will also end up [...]
US SLASHES PAY OF BAILED OUT BOSSES October 21, 2009 BARACK Obama’s pay tsar is planning to slash the salaries of the top 25 executives at seven bailed out firms by a staggering average of 90 per cent. And total compensation for the 175 executives will fall by an average of 50 per cent, as the US Treasury Department’s special master of compensationKenneth Feinberg cracks [...]
RHJ forks out for Kleinwort Benson deal October 15, 2009 GERMANY’S Commerzbank reached agreement to sell its UK private bank Kleinwort Benson to Belgian investment firm RHJ International for £225m in cash yesterday. The sale comes after Commerzbank was told by the European Commission to sell the division as a condition of approval for the €18.2bn (£16.7bn) it has received in state aid from Berlin. [...]
Union reaches deal with Magna on the future of Vauxhall’s 5,000 jobs in UK October 13, 2009 JOB fears at the UK’s Vauxhall plants were eased yesterday, after Unite union said it had made a deal with the car brand’s new owner, Magna. The union said 600 jobs would go in the UK – far fewer than the 1,200 initially anticipated – and all through voluntary redundancies. Vauxhall, which trades as Opel [...]
Jaguar gets 500m new bank funding October 7, 2009 BELEAGUERED carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) yesterday revealed it has secured £500m of new funding, easing the pressure on the company after a dramatic slump in car sales during the recession. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, said the monies included a £175m loan from the State Bank of India and a new [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 5, 2009 KPMGThe accountancy firm has appointed Rachel Campbell as global head of people, performance and culture and a member of its global executive team. Campbell is currently head of people for the firm’s European business and has led its award-winning “Employer of Choice” strategy in the UK. Prior to that, she was an audit partner specialising [...]