News

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

CIC may have giant Madoff losses

July 6, 2009

French police have opened a preliminary investigation after an allegation by French bank CIC that it has fallen victim to the $65bn fraud committed by “Ponzi” mastermind Bernard Madoff, the public prosecutor’s office said yesterday. CIC, part of mutually owned French bank Credit Mutuel, has said it lost several million dollars as a result of [...]
CARIBBEAN HOLIDAY WINNER IS REVEALED

July 6, 2009

A HUGE thank you to all who replied to our online reader survey last week, when you logged on to the website in your droves to give us feedback and suggestions for the paper. Everyone who participated was entered into a fantastic prize draw to win a holiday for two at the Royal Plantation Ochos [...]
BANKS ARE TOLD TO MAKE A WILL

July 6, 2009

BANKS will be required to write “living wills” to help regulators wind them down in the event of collapse, under a host of plans to be unveiled tomorrow in chancellor Alistair Darling’s white paper on financial regulation. Financial institutions will be told to organise themselves in a way that allows the authorities to carve them [...]
BA staff in deal snub

July 6, 2009

BRITISH Airways’ (BA) cost-cutting plans were dealt a blow yesterday, as 2,000 cabin crew rejected a plan to cut 3,500 jobs, freeze pay and change contracts. The flag carrier is trying to save money after reporting a record full-year loss of £401m earlier this year. BA and unions will reopen negotiations, chaired by conciliation service [...]
EU capital plans near

July 6, 2009

EUROPEAN regulators expect to unveil measures to force financial institutions to hold greater capital buffers within months, it emerged yesterday. EU finance ministers are today expected to back a draft report, recommending tightening up capital requirements to ensure banks are prepared for economic downturns.
Goldman man in theft case

July 6, 2009

A FORMER Goldman Sachs computer programmer is facing trial over claims that he stole secret trading codes from the firm and published them on a German website. Sergey Aleynikov, 39, was arrested last week and yesterday saw his bail set at $750,000 (£461,000) over charges of “theft of trade secrets”. Authorities have not yet confirmed [...]
For once Darling has had a good idea

July 6, 2009

A LIVING will sounds like an oxymoron – dead wills are not exactly two a penny – but it merely refers to a set of instructions, known to all during the deceased’s lifetime, for dealing with his assets once he passes away. In the same vein, one proposal to be included in tomorrow’s White Paper [...]
Fink warns of hedgie war

July 6, 2009

HEDGE fund guru and former Man Group boss Stanley Fink warned yesterday that European Commission (EC) plans on regulation of the alternative investment industry could spark a war with US hedge funds. Fink, who is chief executive of the ISAM hedge fund, said the EC’s draft directive would meet with a backlash from non-EU funds [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

July 6, 2009

FINANCIAL TIMES SUN VALLEY SET TO CONSIDER PAID CONTENTA debate over paid content that has riven the newspaper business and spread across the rest of the media sector is expected to frame discussions at the annual confab of media and technology power brokers and entrepreneurs in Sun Valley this week. The US recession has forced [...]
Qataris tighten grip on Barclays

July 6, 2009

Qatari investors have upped their stakes in Barclays with the conversion of mandatory convertible notes into common stock, booking paper profits of around £700m. The Qatari Investment Authority now has 7.38 per cent of the bank, while Challenger, which acts for Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani of Qatar Holding, has 2.84 per cent. [...]