News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

Director pay in focus at AI

November 15, 2009

ADMINISTRATORS to Aero Inventory (AI), the AIM-listed aero parts group that collapsed last week, are looking at ways to claw back money from the company’s directors amid concern over the level of pay and bonuses taken by key executives. KPMG, which last week took control of AI on behalf of banks, owed more than £300m, [...]
Merlin eyes 2bn float

November 15, 2009

Merlin, the private equity-owned theme park operator, has appointed a host of bulge bracket banks to advise it on a listing early in 2010. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, UBS and Nomura have all been asked to assist the group, which owns attraction such as Madame Tussauds and the London Eye. Merlin will be trying [...]
US Companies profit from cuts

November 15, 2009

A record number of US companies beat earnings expectations in the third quarter, but a big portion of their profits came from cost-cutting, disappointing investors. Nearly all of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index reported their numbers and 80 per cent did better than anticipated, according to Thomson Reuters.
M&S offers penny delivery

November 15, 2009

Marks & Spencer kick-started its Christmas online sales campaign today by offering shoppers delivery for a penny. The penny delivery deal, which only lasts until Saturday, is part of the retailer’s 125th birthday celebrations but is also likely to boost online sales. M&S usually charges £3.50 for UK standard delivery.
Caz set to cede power to JPMorgan

November 15, 2009

BLUE-blooded stockbroker Cazenove is set to sell the remaining 50 per cent of its business to joint owner JP Morgan, in a bumper deal that will spark multi-million pound windfalls for its veteran former partners and star-performing current staff. Under the terms of a joint venture struck by the pair in 2004, JP Morgan has [...]
JPM Cazenove tie-up created a force to be reckoned with

November 15, 2009

WHEN US investment bank JP Morgan struck a deal to buy out half of Cazenove back in November 2004, many in the City felt it would be the beginning of the end, with the Queen’s stockbroker losing its reputation as a consummately professional independent dealmaker. In fact, quite the opposite has proved the case; despite [...]
Obama delays deal on climate change

November 15, 2009

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has acknowledged that time has run out for securing a binding deal for tackling global warming at next month’s Copenhagen summit. But he and other world leaders have rallied around plans to avert a failure at the climate summit that would delay legally binding agreements until 2010 or even later. “We [...]
Deloitte hits back after Woolworths’ former board blames firm for failing

November 15, 2009

City accountancy firm Deloitte yesterday hit back at claims from Woolworths’ former directors holding it responsible for the high street retailer’s demise. Woolworths’ former chairman Richard North, and former chief executive Steve Johnson complained that Deloitte’s dual role as both adviser to Woolworths and administrator to the business when it collapsed last November constitutes a [...]
Reshaping finance sector a marathon, not a sprint

November 15, 2009

AS a keen long-distance runner, having completed sixteen marathons, I feel in my bones that attempts to restore public confidence in the financial services industry during my year in office will be a marathon, not a sprint. That is not to say that we will be slow to address past failings. Far from it. Policymakers [...]
Tories could give Sky the Ashes back

November 15, 2009

Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said yesterday that a Tory government could overturn Labour’s decision to return a host of sporting events to free-to-air channels. Last week, a government-appointed panel – led by former Football Association chief executive David Davies – recommended that the Ashes cricket, international football World Cup and European Championship qualifying matches, [...]