BP shares fall after news of US legal fight December 16, 2010 OIL giant BP’s shares suffered their biggest drop in almost four months yesterday after the US government’s decision to sue the firm for $21bn (£13.5bn), prompting fears that the total cost of the Gulf of Mexico could be far higher than predicted. BP has estimated that the cost of clearing up and compensating victims of [...]
Terra Firma set to appeal EMI ruling January 11, 2011 PRIVATE EQUITY firm Terra Firma wants to appeal the US court decision that dashed its hopes for compensation from Citigroup over its £4bn purchase of music firm EMI. Citigroup provided £2.6bn of debt for the 2007 buyout of EMI, a deal that came to epitomise the risks of loading companies with debt when the company’s [...]
BP sees stock rise after US spill report January 6, 2011 SHARES IN BP rose yesterday morning following the early release of a US panel’s findings into the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which pinned blame on both the oil giant and its partners. An excerpt from the report criticised the oil industry for systemic risks and cost-cutting, but also pointed to failures by contractors Transocean and Halliburton. [...]
Ernst & Young sued in New York for alleged Lehmans fraud December 21, 2010 NEW YORK prosecutors have sued accountant Ernst & Young for its involvement in Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008. In the first major government legal action stemming from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s downfall, the suit accuses the accounting firm of helping to hide financial problems at the Wall Street bank. The civil fraud case seeks more [...]
This could be good news for oil major December 16, 2010 THAT the US government is suing BP should come as no surprise to even casual observers of President Obama’s administration. Fresh from a bruising defeat in the US mid-terms, Obama was unlikely to miss out on a spot of foreign multinational-bashing. Oddly enough, Halliburton – the US oil major responsible for cementing at the site [...]
Citigroup CDO cases to go ahead November 9, 2010 A US judge yesterday dismissed part of a Citigroup shareholder lawsuit alleging securities fraud, but allowed the investors to pursue some of their claims against the bank. Citigroup shareholders claim that the bank knowingly misled them about the value of various securities it sold and the risk related to those securities. US Judge Sidney Stein [...]
Citigroup CDO cases to go ahead November 9, 2010 A US judge yesterday dismissed part of a Citigroup shareholder lawsuit alleging securities fraud, but allowed the investors to pursue some of their claims against the bank. Citigroup shareholders claim that the bank knowingly misled them about the value of various securities it sold and the risk related to those securities. US Judge Sidney Stein [...]
Gherkin owners in legal row with adviser Deutsche Bank November 14, 2010 THE GHERKIN skyscraper has been caught up in a legal battle between some of its owners and Deutsche Bank. Investors in the Euroselect 14 fund, which bought half of the tower at 30 St Mary Axe in 2007, are reportedly considering legal action against Deutsche Bank, which acted as joint distributing agent for the fund. [...]
Madoff’s UK directors sued for $80m December 8, 2010 THE legal battle over the collapse of Bernard Madoff’s $50bn (£31bn) Ponzi scheme moved to London last night when liquidators of the fraudster’s empire named all the directors of the London subsidiary in a new lawsuit. The complaint against Madoff’s London branch – Madoff Securities International Ltd (MSIL), seeks $80m and names as defendants former [...]
JP Morgan and HSBC accused by investors in silver-fixing case October 27, 2010 JPMorgan Chase & Co and HSBC Holdings were hit with two lawsuits yesterday by investors who accused them of conspiring to drive down silver prices, and reaping an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profits. The banks, among the world’s largest, were accused of manipulating the market for COMEX silver futures and options [...]