Rwanda has a pop at France for genocide August 6, 2008 Rwanda formally accused senior French officials yesterday of involvement in its 1994 genocide and called for them to be put on trial. Among those named in a report by a Rwandan investigation commission were former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and late President Francois Mitterrand. Kigali has previously accused Paris of covering up its [...]
Fortis profits halve on new writedowns August 5, 2008 Fortis was the latest bank to be hit by the credit crunch, as it announced interim profits down by 41 per cent, after a second wave of writedowns related to choppy credit markets. The troubled Belgian-Dutch group’s net profit slumped to €1.6bn (£1.3bn) from €2.8bn in the first six months as the bank took €591m [...]
Imperial surges as India and China launch rival bids August 5, 2008 China and India are going head to head in a bidding war to take over British oil and gas firm Imperial Energy, sending its shares shooting up by 8 per cent yesterday. China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, the state-owned oil company commonly known as Sinopec, has approached Imperial with an offer in the region of [...]
HSBC profits hit as bad debt surges August 5, 2008 Europe’s largest bank announces a 28 per cent drop in earnings as crunch bites HSBC chairman Stephen Green insisted yesterday that his bank’s performance was “resilient”, despite a 28 per cent fall in profits and a surge in bad debt charges to more than $10bn (£5bn). Interim pre-tax profits at Europe’s largest bank fell from [...]
Sage expects to deflect the credit crunch August 5, 2008 Business software maker Sage yesterday said that its second quarter profits were up by 12 per cent, fuelling hopes that it will hold strong in the face of challenging market conditions. Despite increased competition in the small to medium enterprise (SME) market, the company continued to grow ahead of market expectations, posting an increase of [...]
Rio loses key mine rights August 5, 2008 Bid target Rio Tinto has lost control of one of its most important iron-ore projects that could generate annual sales of more than $10bn (£5bn), it was revealed yesterday. The Government of Guinea has told Rio that its licence to mine Simandou, one of the world’s largest undeveloped iron-ore deposits, has been rescinded. The company’s [...]
UBS wins first step to stem staff exits August 5, 2008 UBS has won the first round of its legal battle to ban start-up wealth manager Vestra from poaching its staff and clients. High Court judge Mr Justice Openshaw granted an injunction preventing Vestra from making overtures to any UBS UK wealth management or stockbroking clients, or headhunting any more UBS employees. Seventy-five UBS employees have [...]
It’s time to take a punt on politics August 4, 2008 The quick changes in the political landscape offer opportunities for spreadbetters, says Chris Shillington A week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson said, but the few minutes it takes to read a 1,000 word article can also be a significant period. Especially if the article in question is one written by foreign [...]
Cabinet backs Brown after Blair memo August 4, 2008 Three cabinet ministers threw their weight behind the embattled prime minister yesterday in an attempt to defuse the speculation surrounding his leadership. Chancellor Alistair Darling, deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman and Skills Secretary John Denham all endorsed Gordon Brown, insisting he is the right man for the job. Denham said Brown had the skills necessary [...]
Britain’s future is nuclear with or without BE deal August 4, 2008 Last week nuclear operator British Energy was preparing itself for a £12bn sale to French power giant EDF. This week, that deal lies in tatters and the government may be forced rethink its plans to boost the UK’s long-term reliance on atomic energy. So what next for this troubled firm, operator of the UK’s eight [...]