IG eyes Japan as results defy gloom July 22, 2008 Spread betting company IG Group revealed yesterday it was looking at Japan as the next most promising area to expand into. The company, which already has offices in Australia, Singapore as well as Germany, Italy, France and Spain, said it was actively looking for opportunities, following regulatory changes which would allow it to offer its [...]
More firms on brink of bankruptcy July 21, 2008 The number of companies in Britain that are facing bankruptcy rose 685 per cent in the last year, new figures have revealed. Some 4,258 firms faced “critical problems” – defined as being embroiled in some kind of insolvency related legal action – in the second quarter of 2008, compared with just 542 in the same [...]
Schaeffler bid divides Conti board July 21, 2008 German ball bearings maker Schaeffler yesterday said it was still seeking friendly talks with tyre maker Continental, for which it has launched an unsolicited £9bn takeover bid. But insiders say the Conti board are split over whether or not to engage with the rival firm. Schaeffler reiterated its aim for a stake of 36 per [...]
WTO talks could ease trade crisis July 21, 2008 World Bank president Robert Zoellick yesterday urged trade ministers to push for a breakthrough in this week’s World Trade Organization talks, saying it was “now or never” to reach a deal. Zoellick said progress on agricultural issues in the meeting opening in Geneva today would bolster confidence in a world economy strained by soaring food [...]
City: FTSE to bounce back July 21, 2008 London’s benchmark equity market could stage a dramatic recovery by the end of this year, according to leading strategists who predict the FTSE 100 will end the year above 6,000. Analysts at brokerages Charles Stanley and Brewin Dolphin expect the FTSE 100 to end the year at 6,800 and 6,200 respectively. The more optimistic forecasts [...]
London and New York need each other July 21, 2008 Much fuss is made about the “lead” or “lag” that London shows vis-ą-vis New York in the financial and business sector. Whenever studies such as the Global Financial Centres Index report is published, many commentators pore over the tables to see by what degree London or New York is ahead. This misses the point: more [...]
Madeleine suspect wins massive libel damages July 18, 2008 A suspect in the disappearance of schoolgirl Madeleine McCann in Portugal last year won £600,000 in libel damages yesterday for “the utter destruction” of his life. The 10 newspapers involved in the case had wrongly accused Robert Murat, who lived in the same resort where McCann vanished last May sparking an international search, of being [...]
Winterflood set to take on the FSA July 18, 2008 Winterflood Securities, the City’s largest small and mid cap stockbroker, is challenging a £4m fine from the Financial Services Authority for market abuse. It is the biggest fine ever imposed on a City firm for market abuse. Winterflood, which has filed an appeal with the independent Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, said it would vigorously [...]
Taxpayers to face £4bn bill for Equitable July 18, 2008 Eight years after the near collapse of Equitable Life and four years after the Parliamentary Ombudsman began an investigation into the insurer, there was finally some hope for the company’s million or so policyholders yesterday. Ann Abraham, the parliamentary ombudsman who led the exhaustive investigation, found the government should apologise to policyholders – some of [...]
Oligarchs in fresh bid to force out BP July 18, 2008 Joint venture boss Bob Dudley could be forced to leave Russia due to visa problems Bob Dudley, chief executive of BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP, could be forced out of the country in the next two weeks, it emerged yesterday. In a dramatic escalation of the oil giant’s dispute with its oligarch partners, Russia’s Federal [...]