GM plots IPO to reduce government stake July 23, 2010 GENERAL Motors plans to file its registration for an initial public offering during the week of 16 August, just after the expected date for its second quarter results, according to US sources. A GM filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission would be the first step towards an IPO to reduce the US government’s [...]
Close Brothers predicts “solid” year July 23, 2010 MERCHANT bank Close Brothers predicted it would report solid full-year results and that it had seen a slight, if fragile, improvement in bad debts among its customers. “The bad debt ratio improved marginally during the five months to 30 June 2010 although remains sensitive to the economic environment,” the company said in a trading statement [...]
GM snaps up AmeriCredit July 22, 2010 US car giant General Motors (GM) yesterday said it would acquire auto finance company AmeriCredit for $3.5bn (£2.29bn) in cash in a deal aimed at easing financing terms for subprime car buyers. The deal, which remains subject to approval by AmeriCredit’s shareholders, would give GM a captive finance arm for the first time since it [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 13, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BANK TEAMS RUSH TO SET UP NEW FUNDS The hedge fund industry is seeing a rush of start-ups amid a series of high-profile spin-outs from the in-house trading teams at investment banks. In spite of one of the worst second-quarter performances for the industry on record, the new funds also are attracting strong [...]
GM sells steering unit to China as it focuses on cars July 7, 2010 GENERAL Motors (GM) said yesterday it has agreed to sell its Nexteer Automotive unit to a group backed by the Beijing government to focus on its core car-making business. GM said it reached a definite agreement to sell the maker of steering systems to Pacific Century Motors, a joint venture between Chinese auto parts supplier [...]
SOLVED: MYSTERY OF VANISHING FORMER PM July 5, 2010 IT WAS a rip-roaring ride for those who turned up at the swanky Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn yesterday to hear Mayor Boris Johnson exercise his notoriously sharp tongue. Boris, the guest of honour at the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association’s annual lunch, certainly knows how to play to an audience including [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GUINEA THREAT OVER RIO DISPUTE The government of Guinea has raised the stakes in a dispute with Rio Tinto by threatening to strip the mining group of more of its rights to one of the world’s biggest undeveloped iron ore deposits. Officials in Guinea have been angered by what they see as Rio’s [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 20, 2010 Aviva The insurance giant has appointed Dipak Warren as a corporate risk solutions director. Warren joins from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in London, which she joined in 2000. In her last role as active underwriter and director of the firm, she was responsible for the syndicate business plan and performance across property, casualty, motor, PI, marine, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GOOGLE DEBATES OVER FACE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY Google executives are wrestling over whether to launch controversial facial recognition technology after a barrage of criticism over its privacy policies. Eric Schmidt, chief executive, said a series of public disputes over privacy issues had caused the management team to review its procedures and the launch of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS HIT BY MAY VOLATILITY Some of the world’s biggest hedge funds have suffered significant losses this month after high levels of volatility across markets and the shortlived stock market plunge in New York combined to wipe billions from portfolios. Losses in the first week of May alone erased all gains made [...]