Commercial court cases rise in recession July 22, 2012 THE NUMBER of winding-up petitions presented to the High Court rose by a quarter to 7,166 last year as UK companies continued to struggle, according to research released today. This drove a 1,282 rise in the total number of commercial cases launched in the High Court last year, up to 49,166 from 47,884 in 2010. [...]
Iceland let off £2bn debt to UK January 28, 2013 ICELAND’S government will not have to pay back the UK for bailing out depositors who lost money in the country’s banks in 2008, a top court ruled yesterday. The move leaves the UK £2bn out of pocket, and the Treasury is likely to have to wait for years to get the money back as the [...]
Patent cases treble in a year as downturn bites July 30, 2012 THE NUMBER of patent disputes lodged in Britain has almost trebled over the last year, as firms desperately vie to protect their market share in a dismal economic climate, research released today shows. Law firm EMW says the High Court in London saw 183 patent and design cases last year, compared with 65 in 2010. [...]
US authorities probe trades in Heinz shares February 17, 2013 US securities regulators have filed a lawsuit against unknown traders in the options of ketchup maker HJ Heinz. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that traders acted on inside information before Heinz announced a deal to be acquired for $23bn (£14.8bn) by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil’s 3G Capital. The suit marks the [...]
The Long View: Three reads for Christmas: Glamour, Cicero’s web and high-tech fiction December 12, 2013 I WROTE at the end of November that the rise of the selfie marked the death of the audience and the rise of an age committed to universal self-expression and performance. This week, even world leaders have been joining in. When David Cameron and Barack Obama were caught taking silly pictures of themselves at Nelson [...]
Games strikes face injunction July 24, 2012 THE HOME Office is mounting a last-gasp attempt to block planned strike action by border workers during the Olympics, it emerged yesterday. “Procedural errors” in the strike ballot could be used in support of an injunction to halt the industrial action due to start tomorrow. The PCS union has said thousands of public sector workers, [...]
MF Global UK asset return begins July 18, 2012 MF Global UK will return roughly £54m of client assets after its distribution plan was accepted by the High Court yesterday. The return of client assets will begin on 1 August, but it’s worth noting that there are still over £1bn of alleged outstanding claims, which this approval goes only a tiny way towards. Still, Richard [...]
Einhorn pleads with investors on Apple vote February 22, 2013 BILLIONAIRE investor David Einhorn yesterday pleaded with fellow Apple shareholders to vote against the iPhone maker’s proposals to change its corporate practice. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital hedge fund, which owns around $600m (£394m) in Apple shares, laid out proposals that would see billions of dollars returned to shareholders. Einhorn said that despite the company’s history of [...]
BP wins spill fine argument as it gears up for court case February 19, 2013 OIL GIANT BP last night clinched a $3.4bn (£2.2bn) reduction in the potential fine it faces under the US Clear Water Act for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The FTSE 100 firm, which is preparing to defend itself at next week’s court fight against the US government, has agreed with the US Department of [...]
A modest proposal to improve professional standards in British banking January 16, 2013 LONDON can lay claim to be the world leader in many things. It has, for example, the world’s most popular music venue, in the O2 centre. It has the most visited modern art gallery on the planet, at Tate Modern. It is also the world’s legal capital. London rejoices in having many of the world’s [...]