HSBC tables bid for ING private bank
HSBC has tabled a bid for ING’s private banking businesses, in a deal estimated to be worth more than £1 billion.
Blame bankers and regulators, not the market
As we approach the first anniversary of the great meltdown (having passed the second anniversary of the start of the credit crisis), many questions are unanswered.
Lloyds bank must join government asset protection scheme
For all the bluster about the cost of joining the government’s asset protection scheme, Lloyds Banking Group has little choice but to join. There are just too many uncertainties around for Eric Daniels, Lloyds’ chief executive, to ignore the safety of a taxpayer-backed insurance policy aimed at sheltering banks from the worst of their bad loans.
Skype duo could get new role amid legal row with eBay
The founders of internet phone service Skype may take a stake in the business alongside its new backers as the price for defusing a legal row over the technology that powers it.
The Andrew Davidson Interview: Ian Powell of PWC
Who said being an accountant was boring? Global economic collapse, banks on the skids, even the odd famous company on the brink. For Ian Powell, recently appointed head of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), Britain’s biggest accountancy group, it’s enough to make you twitchy. He has been getting postcards too. “And e-mails,” he says. “Some days, hundreds of them.”
Peter Cummings’ deputy eyes HBOS buyout
Graeme Shankland, the man who led a deal spree at HBOS with Peter Cummings, the disgraced former head of Bank of Scotland Corporate, is proposing to buy back some of the loans at half-price.
The Independent in talks with Axel Springer amid Anthony O'Reilly row
The struggling newspaper publisher behind The Independent and Independent on Sunday has held talks with Axel Springer in recent weeks to see if the German media giant could become its largest shareholder.
Auditors face fees backlash
Corporate governance watchdogs have reignited calls for Britain’s biggest companies to be prevented from paying millions in consultancy fees to their independent auditors for non-audit services.
Hampshire Cricket Club in stadium plan to win Ashes
Fans of Hampshire Cricket Club are to be asked to help pay for creating the largest cricket venue in the UK after Lord’s in a bid to host matches at the next two Ashes series to be held in Britain.
Building societies attack new FSA regulations
Britain’s building societies have launched a scathing attack on the City watchdog over new regulations being imposed on them in the wake of the credit crunch.
Thomas Cook prepares for £800m share sale
A stake of almost 50%, worth more than £800m, in the holiday group Thomas Cook is set to be placed with institutional shareholders this week.
Panmure Gordon analyst Sandy Chen sets up his own bank
One of the City’s most respected financial analysts is setting up his own bank. Sandy Chen at Panmure Gordon, the stockbroker, is looking to raise at least £100m through a stock-market listing.
G20 seeks curbs on bank bonuses
G20 finance ministers and central bankers have agreed a series of measures to curb excessive bank bonuses, including spreading payments over a number of years, inserting clawback provisions in contracts and forcing financial firms to reveal high earners in annual reports.
Vodafone and O2 in £3.5bn bid battle for T-Mobile
Vodafone and the owner of O2, Telefonica of Spain, have tabled conditional offers to buy T-Mobile UK as the race to create the biggest force in Britain’s mobile-phone industry gathers pace.
Andy Duncan in talks on Channel 4 payoff
The embattled chief executive of Channel 4, Andy Duncan, is negotiating a severance package worth up to £585,000 before announcing his exit from the broadcaster.
France tells G20 finance ministers it will cap bankers’ bonuses
France will go it alone and axe bankers’ bonuses even if Britain and America refuse to cap them, the French Finance Minister said yesterday after the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in London.
US claims victory over ‘illegal’ Airbus subsidies
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that some of the subsidies given to Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, by European governments, including the UK, were illegal.
Tempus: 'Grandstanding' won't alter Diageo’s job cuts
Diageo may have operations in 180 markets around the globe, but the one causing it the biggest headache at the moment is very close to home: Scotland. The drinks behemoth’s announcement in July that it planned to cut 900 jobs north of the border has whipped up a political storm.
US wins first round against EU over Airbus subsidies
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that subsidies given to Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, by European governments, including the UK, were illegal.
China’s $50bn IMF deal puts 'redback' on the world stage$
China is using a $50 billion ($£31 billion) bond deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to expand the global reach and influence of its currency in what analysts say could be a potentially huge development in Beijing’s campaign to internationalise the “redback”.
Public ascension puts a private individual in top seat at Alchemy
Jon Moulton will be a hard act to follow, and his replacement at the head of Alchemy Partners, the private equity firm, can expect little help from his predecessor in settling into the job.
Political help behind Libya arms trade, says official
A senior Whitehall official boasted that “high-level political interventions” had enhanced the prospect of arms sales to Libya, three weeks after Britain’s prisoner transfer deal with the regime was ratified.
Scrap scheme helps sales of new cars to shift up a gear
New car sales have risen for the second consecutive month, helped by the success of the Government’s “cash for bangers” scrappage scheme.
No buyer, no chef and a €50 million legal wrangle for Hôtel de Crillon in Paris
It is the grandest hotel in France, with suites costing up to €8,220 (£7,150) a night and a register signed by the likes of King George V, Sir Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin.
Mapping the economy: Shakespeare’s home town avoids drama
Bustling market scenes — complete with crowds of buyers and sellers, soothsayers and moneylenders — are the stuff of Shakespeare plays.