News Corp settles Valassis case ahead of unfair competition trial January 31, 2010 NEWS Corporation, the media group run by tycoon Rupert Murdoch, said it has settled a lawsuit by Valassis Communications Inc for $500m (£313.5m) after deciding it may have difficulty presenting its case to a jury. Valassis, a distributor of newspaper inserts, has already won $300m in damages in a lawsuit against a News Corp subsidiary [...]
The Scrooge of Wall Street who says we should blame Americans June 23, 2010 EVEN though it is over 20 years since Michael Lewis worked for Salomon Brothers in London and New York – an experience that he recorded in his classic book of the excesses and greed of the 80s, Liar’s Poker – and even though he has spent much of the intervening time as a keen Wall [...]
UBS outflows slow ahead of investor clash April 12, 2010 UBS surprised analysts yesterday by revealing its haemorrhaging of private client funds slowed to SwFr8bn (£4.9bn) in the first quarter. The outflows were stemmed as fewer rich clients took money out in protest at the bank’s recent losses, UBS said. Other institutions in the region will take heart from the trend, which comes amid an [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ITV SET TO ESCAPE RULES BUGBEAR ITV may be close to losing one of its most burdensome regulations after the government said it had powers to intervene in a long-running competition saga under a loophole in the law. City analysts believed the contract rights renewal (CRR) rules were certain to be a drag [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES STEEL INDUSTRY SET FOR A ‘NEW VOLATILITY’ Lakshmi Mittal warned yesterday that the impending large rise in the costs of iron ore would lead to “new volatility” in the steel industry by pushing up prices of the metal in a development that could harm the competitiveness of some of ArcelorMittal’s European plants. The [...]
Tories in desperate fight for survival April 19, 2010 POLITICS has not returned to normality and may never do so; unless the Nick Clegg bubble is pricked in the next few days, the Liberal Democrats are about to overthrow the established order and hand Gordon Brown an astonishing opportunity to remain in Downing Street. Few investors and voters have properly digested the revolutionary implications [...]
The boss of the world’s number one caterer is drawing up plans to grow June 28, 2010 It is no exaggeration to say that Compass and its chief executive Richard Cousins has elevated the term low-key into something of an art form. A modest three-storey red brick building in Chertsey, Surrey, is home to the biggest caterer in the world. Cousins, a 51-year-old father of two who rarely gives interviews, is the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EUROZONE DIVISIONS HIT SINGLE CURRENCY The euro came under heavy pressure yesterday, falling to a 10-month low against the dollar, as doubts intensified about the 16 eurozone member states agreeing on financial assistance for Greece – and Portugal suffered a credit downgrade. Sentiment soured towards the European single currency after Fitch, the rating [...]
Vivendi cuts losses but stays cautious March 1, 2010 Europe’s largest entertainment group was cautious yesterday despite posting better than expected results. In the last three months of 2009, Vivendi posted a net loss of €958m (£868m), narrowed from €1.38bn a year earlier. The buoyant results were boosted by strong performances from its gaming and telecoms operations. Revenue for the quarter was €7.61bn, down [...]
Investors claim Goldman win January 25, 2010 TWO GOLDMAN Sachs shareholders have staked the unusual claim that their lawsuit contributed to the investment bank’s decision to restrain its remuneration policy. US-based pension funds looking after labourers and firemen, who demanded the board review the proportion of profits paid out as salary, said their action led to the lower-than-expected pay and bonus pool [...]