Friends Prov dives into Cowdery deal August 11, 2009 THE BOARD of Friends Provident unanimously supported a fourth takeover bid from Clive Cowdery’s buyout vehicle Resolution yesterday, heralding an end to one of the world’s oldest life insurers. Trevor Matthews, chief executive of the 177-year old firm that was founded as a friendly society for Quakers, said he was “excited” at Cowdery’s plans to [...]
CITY BACK FROM WEEK OF FROLICS AT COWES August 9, 2009 THE weather-beaten City sailing crowd are back in the City this week after the annual Cowes week regatta, probably feeling a touch worse for wear after the closing celebrations at the weekend. Carphone Warehouse tycoon Charles Dunstone was celebrating winning the overall trophy for his class, after his boat Rio finished ahead of the pack [...]
Sandler new candidate for Lloyds chair July 19, 2009 RON Sandler, the man parachuted in to Northern Rock by the government to turn the stricken mortage lender around, has emerged as a surprise candidate to succeed Sir Victor Blank as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group. The bank, which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer, has drawn up a shortlist of names for [...]
SANTANDER CHIEF BREAKING CITY HEARTS WITH HIS EXOTIC CHARM August 3, 2009 WHILE all the big British bank bosses are pitted against each other this week in terms of first-half profits, Spanish bank Santander’s UK boss António Horta-Osório has been enjoying the glory of a rather more frivolous accolade. Horta-Osório became chief executive of Abbey in August 2006, after long stints at the helm of the bank’s [...]
Brit misses profit expectations July 30, 2009 LLOYD’S of London insurer Brit said yesterday its pre-tax profits came in below analyst expectations at £64.9m in the first half of the year, excluding currency fluctuations. The figure was a 24.1 per cent rise on the £52.3m pre-tax profit booked in the first half of 2008, but fell short of analyst expectations of £70m. [...]
PR PRO FULD CORNERED AT COUNTRY RETREAT September 8, 2009 SOMEONE has finally cornered former Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld, the “gorilla” of Wall Street, at his idyllic country pad in Idaho, just a week before the anniversary of the firm’s collapse. “You don’t have a gun; that’s good,” was Fuld’s opening shot to the Reuters reporter, before adding: “I’ve been pummelled, I’ve been dumped [...]
PR PRO FULD CORNERED AT COUNTRY RETREAT September 8, 2009 SOMEONE has finally cornered former Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld, the “gorilla” of Wall Street, at his idyllic country pad in Idaho, just a week before the anniversary of the firm’s collapse. “You don’t have a gun; that’s good,” was Fuld’s opening shot to the Reuters reporter, before adding: “I’ve been pummelled, I’ve been dumped [...]
DARLING THREATENS LAW TO CURB CITY BONUSES August 16, 2009 CITY bankers are on a collision course with politicians over multi-million pound bonuses after chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday pledged to intervene to curb excessive pay and risk-taking in the Square Mile. The Treasury is ready to consider legal action on bonuses if they pose a “systemic risk” to the banking system, which Darling and many [...]
Tight supply drives sugar even higher August 2, 2009 IT MAY not attract the same attention as crude oil or gold, but the potential for multi-decade highs means that white sugar deserves a closer look from spread betters looking to diversify their trading portfolio. Raw sugar futures hit three-year peaks of at the end of last week with New York’s October contract touching a [...]
Lehman Bros bondholders may be owed up to 44bn September 14, 2009 THE trustee holders of collapsed Lehman Brothers’ senior bonds said the debt holders may be owed as much as $73bn (£44bn), after losing their investments when the bank filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago, according to court documents. Wilmington Trust Company claims that holders of the senior debt of the failed bank are estimated [...]