Hands in year long plan to sue Citigroup December 13, 2009 TERRA Firma’s £2bn lawsuit against Citigroup, which it accuses of lying during its buyout of music giant EMI two years ago, had been in the pipeline for 12 months. The private equity group led by Guy Hands finally decided to strike after Citi rejected a refinancing deal that would see £1bn of loans to EMI [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES REFORMS TO MAKE BANKING “SOCIALLY USEFUL” David Davis, chair of the independent banking inquiry, has promised to give consumers a strong voice as he prepares a report intended to produce a “socially useful” financial sector. As chair of the Future of Banking Commission, the senior Conservative MP will lead what he claims will [...]
HEDGE FUND FASHION GURU HAS A SALES BOOM February 11, 2010 WE ALWAYS knew women were good at multi-tasking, but Britt Lintner really does take the concept to a new extreme. Regular readers may remember Lintner, who heads up her own flourishing womenswear label while managing to hold down a tough job in hedge fund sales at GLG Partners. And now I hear that not only [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 21, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES MUSIC INDUSTRY CLAIMS 95 PER CENT OF DOWNLOADS ILLEGAL AS CD SALES FALL A quarter of all recorded music industry revenues come from digital channels but online file-sharing continues to undermine the global music industry, with sales of physical and digital music falling last year, according to trade body the International Federation of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BERLIN PUSHES WEBER FOR TOP JOB AT THE ECB Berlin has stepped up its campaign for Axel Weber, Bundesbank chief, to be elected president of the European Central Bank amid intense negotiations over the appointment of the number two position at the Frankfurt-based institution. German officials told the Financial Times that eurozone nations [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 18, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BUYOUTS AT 25-YEAR LOW DUE TO LACK OF CREDIT The number of private equity deals in the UK hit a 25-year low last year, as the credit crisis cut off the supply of cheap debt and dissuaded business owners from selling out. There were 117 private equity deals in 2009, fewer than half [...]
Intel sued for bullying by New York City prosecutor November 4, 2009 INTEL was sued yesterday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world’s largest chipmaker of scheming to maintain monopoly power in the market for microprocessors. In an 87-page lawsuit filed in a Delaware federal court, Cuomo said Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws through a “systematic worldwide campaign” of illegal threats, [...]
Madoff swindle costs $21.2bn October 28, 2009 THE total amount lost in Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent Ponzi scam has now climbed to $21.2bn (£12.9bn) – a stark rise from the $13bn the government estimated in June. Court appointed trustee Irving Picard yesterday said that after examining accounts dating back to 1983 the losses were deeper than previously thought and said “there definitely will [...]
Nokia sues over Apple iPhone October 22, 2009 Mobile phone maker Nokia yesterday filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the US firm’s iPhone infringes its technology patents. The patents relate to technologies fundamental for devices using GSM, UMTS and local area network (LAN) standards. They cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since [...]
BROKER WILLS & CO OPENS FIRE ON FSA’S REGULATORY CRACKDOWN January 18, 2010 WHEREAS most City firms are content to whinge ineffectually about the Financial Services Authority’s new heavy-handed approach to regulation, it seems that others are starting to put their money where their mouth is. Rumours have been busy swirling in the Square Mile over the regulatory status of private client stockbroker Wills & Co, which can [...]