Intertek, the inspection and testing company, reported a 15.8 per cent rise in
profits following a series of warnings last year over the safety of
children’s toys. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:33 pm
US authorities open an investigation into Countrywide Financial over suspected fraud, US media reports say. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:31 pm
(Reuters) - U.S. chemical maker DuPont Co said it expects large growth opportunities for seed business in Eastern Europe and its unit, Pioneer Hi-Bred, will be a key growth engine for the company.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp , the world's largest fast-food chain, said on Monday sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 11.7 percent globally in February, well above Wall Street expectations, helped by U.S. coffee sales and strength overseas.
Reuters - Wall Street analysts are forecasting
flat earnings growth for U.S. companies in the first and second
quarter, a survey by Reuters Estimates shows.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street analysts are forecasting flat earnings growth for U.S. companies in the first and second quarter, a survey by Reuters Estimates shows.
Bangladesh's state-owned airline, Biman, announces that it will buy eight aircraft for $1.26bn as part of a fleet upgrade. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:22 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc will sell its 16.3 percent stake in White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd in a transaction valued at $836 million, seven years after investing in the Bermuda-based insurer, White Mountains said on Monday.
As U.S. job growth hits the skids, a shrinking labor market means one thing for the nervous retail workers who reside in Columbus, Ohio: Their job is on shaky ground.
Marks & Spencer makes major management changes, with chief executive Stuart Rose to extend his stay. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:09 pm
Green taxes and measures to help those struggling to pay energy bills are likely to feature in the chancellor's first budget. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 pm
Reuters - As a legal battle between
Barry Diller and John Malone heads to court on Monday, the
biggest surprise may just be that two of the media industry's
largest personalities have let their dispute get this far.
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - As a legal battle between Barry Diller and John Malone heads to court on Monday, the biggest surprise may just be that two of the media industry's largest personalities have let their dispute get this far.
Reuters - U.S. stock index futures edged higher
on Monday after Wall Street's sharp drop on Friday as investors
speculated that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in
an emergency move to shore up the economy.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday after Wall Street's sharp drop on Friday as investors speculated that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in an emergency move to shore up the economy.
BAA, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, sells World Duty Free, its network of airport shops, to Italy's Autogrill. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:39 am
Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are the major banks, Amgen, Blue Nile, Carlyle Capital, Eli Lilly, McDonald's, Nationwide Financial Services, Six Flags and Thornburg Mortgage.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche denied on Monday it is seeking to increase its stake in Volkswagen to 75 percent, noting talk of such a move "overlooks the realities in VW's shareholder structure".
Time—and money—appear to be running out for Carlyle Capital Corp., the mortgage-bond fund taken public last summer by private equity titan Carlyle Group.
The fund said today that it had asked its lenders to hold off on liquidating any more of its collateral. The fund, with assistance from Carlyle Group, has stepped up talks with its lenders and is "evaluating all available options to maximize value for all interested parties."
Lenders, declaring that the fund has defaulted, have already sold off $5 billion of Carlyle Capital's securities—about a quarter of the fund's $21 billion portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities. The fund also says that it has received more than $400 million in margin calls.
Carlyle Capital said: "The company is in ongoing negotiations with the remaining lenders, who hold approximately $16 billion in securities, and, if a mutually beneficial agreement is not reached, some of these lenders may also liquidate their securities."
Shares of the fund, which trade on the exchange in Amsterdam, were suspended on Friday.
Carlyle Capital also said that it had not received any deficiency notices from those lenders who sold collateral to cover the borrowings.
The Financial Times' Alphaville blog finds that curious, because it indicates that the assets being sold had not become toxic, that they had held their par value. "Why then, were margin calls being made in the first case?"
Alphaville answers its own question by referring to an earlier article by James Mackintosh of the Financial Times, who explains that the repo desk of a bank is an unusual creature, offering "credit to buy a multiple of the cash put up by an investor, potentially 30 times or more for high-quality assets."
"But the cash safety margin must be maintained at a fixed percentage, set to protect banks from losses in case they are forced into a fire sale by a default—so the more the price falls, the more cash the investor has to give the bank." the Financial Times says.
As the financial devastation caused by the mortgage banking crisis rolls through the economy, it's clear that the debacle in fundamental ways is reenacting earlier disasters:
The drive for profits caused the industry to ignore or hide profound dangers, and led regulators to look the other way, while the full consequences weren't anticipated as the crisis began.
In one respect, though, this disaster differs from every other big financial crisis, at least as far back as the 1929 market crash: No one is calling for an independent, blue-ribbon commission to investigate the causes, and to recommend ways to prevent such meltdowns from happening again.
Neither the White House nor Congress has made any move to establish such a commission. Instead, the consensus so far is to leave investigations and solutions to the regulatory agencies, lawmakers, and other political figures—among those who'd stood by even when the potential for disaster had become clear.
But in some circles in the academic and securities world, talk is growing that such a commission may be essential. They say only an independent panel would be able to conduct an aggressive, impartial investigation, provide a comprehensive narrative of what happened, and bring forth evidence of hidden fraud and false disclosure.
Such a panel, of course, could also produce conclusions and recommendations that might threaten the reputations and entrenched interests of federal regulators and the banking industry.
Robert Litan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, an expert on banking and financial regulation, says he is writing a paper specifically calling for an investigative commission. Such a panel is needed, he argues, because some causes remain unclear, and "the solutions are not obvious and not easy."
Among unresolved questions are why banks themselves didn't recognize the danger they faced, why regulators didn't raise red flags and crack down before it was too late, and whether fundamental changes are needed in accounting rules.
Just two days after the October 1987 market crash, President Ronald Reagan established the Presidential Task Force on Market Mechanisms to figure out what had happened.
Led by Nicholas F. Brady, who was later Treasury secretary under President George H.W. Bush, that body revealed previously unsuspected causes of the crash and suggested specific reforms. It produced fundamental changes in market trading.
Other blue-ribbon panels produced similar or even greater results:
After the 1929 crash, the Pecora Commission made withering conclusions about bankers and the regulatory system. Its recommendations fundamentally shaped the U.S. banking system and markets for decades.
After waves of scandals wracked trading in over-the-counter stocks and the American Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1961 appointed a commission led by Milton Cohen, a lawyer and securities authority who had been one of the S.E.C.'s first officials when the agency was created. Its report voluminous report caused radical reforms, including for the first time imposing registration and disclosure requirements for O.T.C. companies.
After the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis, Congress established the National Commission on Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement. Its report heavily faulted S&L regulatory agencies for having helped cause the crisis, and recommended significant accounting changes.
Other panels, of course, have been formed after nonfinancial crises, including the commission that reviewed the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. They also have been lauded for fact-finding and recommendations that likely wouldn't have been possible otherwise.
Why no move by Congress to establish a panel? A spokesman for Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says this time around there's no need for an independent commission.
"We're way beyond it," he said. "We know what's happened."
Frank's spokesman contends the crisis was mainly caused by seven years of a Republican Congress and a Republican president, which opposed heightened regulation of the financial industry.
Frank and fellow Democrats already have responded with the legislation needed to address what they contend are inadequacies in government oversight and laxness by lenders.
President Bush has concentrated on stimulating the economy and bringing relief to homeowners facing foreclosure. Publicly, there hasn't been any talk of establishing a commission. The White House has been notably averse to steps that might lead to more regulation of business—or cast blame on administration appointees.
Elliot Levitas, a former Democratic congressman who also had served on the S&L commission in the 1990s, says "there's going to have to be a respected, independent blue-ribbon commission to sort out what happened" in the mortgage market. Independence is key, he said, because the regulators now trying to clean up the mess had been "asleep a the switch."
"There are people in the private sector who were so blinded and driven by greed that they were doing irresponsible things," Levitas added, "and there was nobody in an official position blowing the whistle and reining them in."
In interviews, figures such as Lynn Turner, former S.E.C. chief economist, and Harvey Goldschmid, former Democratic member of the commission, have endorsed the creation of an independent panel.
But Andrew Brimmer, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors who was a co-chairman of the S&L commission, suggests one reason the time isn't ripe for a blue-ribbon panel: The mortgage crisis is still having escalating repercussions.
Brimmer says the need is for urgent, immediate steps to halt a potential economic meltdown. A panel to do a postmortem can wait, he argues, until the final tally of damage is known.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche denied on Monday it is seeking to increase its stake in Volkswagen to 75 percent, noting talk of such a move "overlooks the realities Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:28 am
Oil prices fell below 105 dollars per barrel in Asian trade Monday, off last week's record levels amid fresh concerns over the US economy, the world's biggest energy user, dealers said. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:26 am
U.K.-listed miners take a hammering for the second straight session, with concerns about the U.S. economy dragging the sector and the broader market lower.
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The Hang Seng Index's worst week in seven years and a deluge of negative news have so far failed to dent enthusiasm for the $5.4 billion dual listing of China Railway Construction, Asia's biggest listing of the year.
Asian stocks tumbled Monday with Tokyo hitting a 30-month low as recession alarm bells rang louder in the United States following a shock drop in employment, dealers said. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:09 am
Japanese core machinery orders _ a key indicator of capital spending _ posted their biggest gain in seven years in January, but analysts were wary about their outlook because the gain was Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:07 am
Asian shares are hit by more worries about the US economy, with the Nikkei at its lowest level since 2005. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:07 am
Price inflation of goods leaving UK factories held at its highest rate in 16 years in February, official data shows. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:07 am
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission said Monday it has levied a fine of 696 million won, or $729,000, on Motorola Korea Inc. for helping three South Korean companies collude to get orders Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:06 am
China's trade surplus plunged in February as sales of goods to the United States and Europe weakened and snowstorms disrupted the economy, the government reported Monday, but analysts... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:05 am
A survey says the national average price for gasoline rose 9 cents over the last two weeks. The average price of self-serve regular gasoline on Friday was $3.19 a gallon, mid-grade was Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:04 am
A survey says the national average price for gasoline rose 9 cents over the last two weeks. The average price of self-serve regular gasoline on Friday was $3.19 a gallon, mid-grade was Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:04 am
Major contractor China Railway Construction's shares rose by a smaller-than-expected 28 percent early Monday after an initial public offering that raised $5.4 billion _ the biggest IPO so Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
Sir Stuart Rose is to become executive chairman of Marks & Spencer as part of a major boardroom shake-up designed to end uncertainty about the future of the retailer. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
Wall Street headed toward a flat opening Monday as investors smarting from a pummeling last week awaited data that will give more clues about consumer spending and inflation. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:59 am
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Investors bid up shares in Spain's leading utilities on Monday, reacting following the weekend re-election of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as prime minister.
Recession fears following the biggest U.S. job losses in five years mixed with strains in the credit market on Monday to depress global stocks and the dollar. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:49 am
U.S. stock futures were pointing toward tentative gains Monday, after the last week’s stumble on data showing the second straight drop in monthly employment.
British airport operator BAA sold a chain of 58 duty-free stores to Italy’s Autrogrill for 545 million pounds ($1.1 billion), raising much-needed cash for its highly leveraged business.
Reuters - Carlyle Capital Corp , an
affiliate of private equity firm Carlyle Group , said
on Monday it has asked lenders for a standstill agreement as it
faces more than $400 million in margin calls. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:42 am
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Carlyle Capital Corp , an affiliate of private equity firm Carlyle Group , said on Monday it has asked lenders for a standstill agreement as it faces more than $400 million in margin calls.
Stocks in Europe were flattish on Monday, as growing doubts about the health of the U.S. economy again weighed on sentiment, especially in the metals sector.
Sir Stuart Rose is taking on a new role of executive chairman at Marks &
Spencer in a radical management shake-up that will see him stay at the
retailer until 2011 while bringing on a “next generation” of leaders. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:20 am
London equities extended their losing streak on Monday but a measure of bid speculation limited the extent of the declines. Miners were among the worst performers on renewed concerns about the strength... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:14 am
It's Budget week again and we will all be encouraged to fulminate about a penny here or a fiver there as if these tiny little pinpricks on the overall momentum of Government take and spend will really make a blind bit of difference. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 10:10 am
The dollar came under renewed selling pressure Monday, after fears of a U.S. recession and expectations for further, aggressive interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve last week drove the greenback to historic lows against the euro, Japan's yen and the Swiss franc.
In this adaptation from their forthcoming book, The Game-Changer, A.G. Lafley and management consultant Ram Charan describe the principles of innovation and give a grass-roots example of how listening to the bosses in this instance, Mexican housewives - can pay off.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Daniel Mudd, Chief Executive of Fannie
Mae , the largest U.S. home funding company, is taking a
10-day visit to investors in Asia and Europe, according to the
Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Housebuilder Bovis Homes has urged the Bank of England to make further interest rate cuts if the housing market is to emerge from the current "weak cycle". Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 9:30 am
China Railway Construction shares rise 28% on their first day, a poor debut by Shanghai standards. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 9:25 am
Bovis Homes warned today that unless interest rates are cut immediately and
more normal conditions return to the mortgage market, home sales will be
well down this year. Bovis home sales are already off 20 per cent. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 9:19 am
Asian stocks fell across the region on Monday in response to figures showing the US lost the largest number of jobs in five years, unsettled by the growing possibility of a recession in the US and resulting... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 9:18 am
China's trade surplus unexpectedly declined in February, as the observance of a holiday and bad weather disrupted factory output, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed Monday. In addition, the government said China's producer price index climbed 6.6% in February from a year earlier, the fastest pace since December 2004.
The Amsterdam-listed fund has requested a standstill agreement with its lenders after some of them liquidated almost a quarter of its $21bn of residential mortgage-backed securities Source: FT.com - US homepage | 10 Mar 2008 | 9:12 am
Malcolm Harris, chief executive of Bovis Homes, on Monday called on the Bank of England to cut interest rates to help the struggling UK housing market.The housebuilder's shares tumbled 8 per cent at the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 8:47 am
BAA, the UK airport operator, on Monday announced it had sold a chain of 58 duty-free stores to Italy's Autogrill in a 545m ($1.1bn, 717m) deal.The sale of World Duty Free raises much-needed cash for Ferrovial,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 8:12 am
Alistair Darling is planning to make the unusual move of preventing energy companies from making excessive profits of about £400m from their poorest customers. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 8:04 am
Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC), the $22 billion ($£9.9 billion)
mortgage-bond fund owned by US private equity group Carlyle, said today that
lenders holding $16 billion in securities as collateral may sell if a debt
repayment deal cannot be hammered out.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:58 am
The prime minister was sworn in for a new five-year term and vowed not to resign in spite of a brusing election setback for the long-ruling National Front government. The stock market fell 10% on worries about political stability Source: FT.com - US homepage | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:56 am
Asian stocks fell across the region on Monday in response to figures showing the US lost the largest number of jobs in five years, unsettled by the growing possibility of a recession in the US and resulting... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:54 am
China's trade surplus unexpectedly falls sharply in February, and there are warning signs on inflation. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:13 am
Talks to avert a strike by pilots over BA plans to launch a new transatlantic subsidiary collapse. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:11 am
The company vows to step up enforcement as criticism grows about conditions at factories that make its products ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 10 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
Housing for seniors is creating a cultural shift that is largely welcomed by those who can afford it.
She grew up listening to her grandparents' stories over dinner, three generations gathered in the house they shared, like nearly every Indian family she knew.
Economic growth fuels plans for new cities with amenities aimed at urban professionals.
A new city has risen out of a swamp south of the winding Saigon River, part of a real estate boom that is reshaping lifestyles in developing Vietnam and enriching some speculators.
Helping restore a 1930s oil facility will take local planning and teamwork.
The ragged oil refinery in a barren corner of Anbar province looks more like something out of a post-apocalyptic Mel Gibson movie than the centerpiece of an ambitious energy project.
The nonprofit website needs to raise funds, but it resists selling ads.
The new headquarters of one of the world's most popular websites is 3,000 square feet of rented space furnished with desks and chairs bought on the cheap from EBay and Craigslist.
The company vows to step up enforcement as criticism grows about conditions at factories that make its products
A year after Walt Disney Co. banned Hao Wei Metal Plastic Manufactory as a supplier, Huang Renzhong got a job there sculpting melted globs of poly-resin into statuettes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Snow White. ¶ Starting at 8 a.m., Huang regularly pulled 15-hour shifts. Sometimes he worked through the night in the dust-filled factory. Sometimes a month would pass before he had a day off. He said he was never compensated for overtime. When he demanded back pay, he said, the factory owner threatened to have him beaten up. ¶ Huang and four co-workers sued the labor bureau in Shenzhen, scoring a victory when a court ruled that the bureau hadn't properly considered their demand for more than $90,000 in unpaid wages. The ruling, and the five workers' audacity, was extraordinary in China. The local press picked up the story. ¶ It was only then, Disney executives said, that they learned that Hao Wei Metal Plastic Manufactory was still in the business of making Disney merchandise. Hao Wei ran afoul of the code of conduct that Disney asks manufacturers to follow, but the company was powerless, the executives said, because it was unaware.
Reuters - Global credit strains took a heavy toll
on Australian money markets on Monday, driving interbank rates
to their highest in 13 years as banks hoarded cash even as
desperate borrowers scrambled for more funds. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 6:47 am
The New Zealand dollar appeared to be treading water after recovering from a low of US79.07c in offshore trade on Friday night.
Today the kiwi closed around opening levels at US79.46c, similar to Friday's close and a rebound from... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 5:55 am
Reuters - Microsoft Corp would not rush
to merge its technology platform with Yahoo Inc's
after a takeover of the Internet company, according to the
Financial Times, citing an interview with Microsoft chief
software architect Ray Ozzie.
Reuters - U.S. average retail gasoline prices
have reached a new high of almost $3.20 per gallon and will
likely jump another 20 to 30 cents in the next month, worsening
the pain of consumers struggling to make ends meet in an
economic downturn.
The Raukumara Basin off the North Island's east coast is likely to be the next area opened up to oil explorers, Associate Energy Minister Harry Duynhoven said today.
Mr Duynhoven told the Petroleum Conference in Auckland that the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 3:47 am
Blis Technologies says it has redeployed some of its top scientists into technical business development roles.
The company developed and makes Blis K12 which contains naturally occurring beneficial bacteria to help throat health... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 2:00 am
The New Zealand and Australian sharemarkets have opened sharply lower today, after Wall Street fell on US recession concerns.
Across the Tasman, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had fallen 85.5 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 5178.5,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:45 am
Sir Ken Morrison is set to receive an honorary title from the supermarket chain when he retires this week after 56 years with the Bradford-based company. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The Government may pay another six-figure sum for information on Britons avoiding tax, after it emerged that German authorities have secured another cache of data on holders of secret Liechtenstein bank accounts Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Home owners will be able to take out mortgages at interest rates fixed for as long as 25 years under Budget plans to restore stability to a housing market plunged into crisis by the recent global credit crunch. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Europe's monetary union may be tested to near breaking point as the economic downturn engulfs the bloc's southern tier, and German investors cut off a crucial source of foreign funding, according a hard-hitting report by the Swiss bank UBS. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The taxman is ignoring the rich and picking on middle-class families because they are easier targets, according to whistleblowers inside the Government. Source: Telegraph Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Ocado, the grocery home-shopping business part-owned by John Lewis, is
launching a price war against Tesco, despite losses of nearly £300 million
since its launch eight years ago. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Chile faces an energy crisis that threatens copper mining - its economic
mainstay - as hydroelectric dams gasp over the worst drought in 100 years
and natural gas supplies are cut off in the mineral-rich north. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The most important announcement in the Budget on Wednesday will not be about
the public sector borrowing requirement, the Treasury's economic forecasts
or the outlook for government spending. The Treasury is as clueless as
anybody else about what will happen to the global economic and financial
system in the year ahead, so its economic forecasts are of no greater
interest than the private predictions published at the back of The Economist
every week. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
British company chiefs are ill-equipped to grapple with a serious economic
downturn because so few of them have any recession experience, a business
school study has found.<br/>
<br/>
Three quarters of executives now in senior positions are “recession virgins” -
having never before experienced a serious economic slowdown while in
positions of authority. The survey of more than 200 business people,
conducted by the business school Pentacle, found that 69 per cent of
executives believe that the UK is heading into a recession or serious
downturn, with 71 per cent of senior management of the opinion that bosses
lack the skills and experience needed to deal with a slump in business.<br/>
<br/>
Of those questioned, 62 per cent estimated that under a quarter of the senior
staff at their own firms held key senior positions when the last recesion
hit the UK in 1992. Many were at university or starting their careers at
that time.Peter Redfern, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, the
housebuilder, has found himself on the front line of the economic slowdown
aged only 37, a far cry from his days as a trainee accountant at KPMG during
the lastrecession. SimonWolf-son, the 40-year-old chief executive of Next,
the retailer hit by weaker consumer spending, was a national sales manager
at the company during the last downturn.<br/>
<br/>
“After a long economic cycle with nearly 15 years of growth, most of those at
the top of business today are used to vigorous expansion, ambitious projects
and taking major risks, all with unwavering confidence,” Eddie Obeng,
director of Pentacle, said. “The question is whether these same bold leaders
have the expertise to adapt to much more challenging conditions.” Those
responsible for seeking out top management disagree that age means younger
executives cannot succeed as the economy slows down. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Canadian spies are set to help India's intelligence agencies to intercept
BlackBerry messages to prevent the mobile e-mail service being shut down
across the sub-continent. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Plans to build new hospitals, schools and roads could be scaled back or even
cancelled this year as the global credit crunch makes it more difficult to
raise money for infrastructure projects.<br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3399716.ece">Financing
for a new fleet of RAF air tankers </a> has hit snags already and analysts
have voiced concerns over plans to raise about £2 billion for the M25
road-widening project, due this year.<br/>
<br/>
It emerged last week that plans to raise £225 million from a bond issue to
build a new hospital for the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent
had run into trouble.<br/>
<br/>
Bonds issued to pay for infrastructure projects, built under the Government’s
Private Finance Initiative (PFI), have become decreasingly attractive to
investors because of their lower credit ratings. Since the start of the
year, the bonds’ credit ratings have been lowered because of fears over the
groups that insure them. Typically, PFI project bonds benefited from a top
credit rating as high-rated insurers guaranteed returns to investors.<br/>
<br/>
Ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings have cut
insurers’ ratings, amid concerns about the financial stability of the
so-called monoline insurers, such as Ambac and MBIA, which guarantee bonds.
This has had a knock-on effect on the ratings given to the PFI bonds that
they insure. As a result, bond financing for PFI projects has almost
disappeared.<br/>
<br/>
Some institutions and pension funds cannot invest in PFI bonds because their
investment rules allow them to put their money only into top-rated debt.<br/>
<br/>
Olivier Delfour, global head of infrastructure and project finance for Fitch
Ratings, said: “There is currently no significant appetite for insured bonds
that were the preferred funding tool for PFI projects in capital markets. We
have already seen some impact, with the [RAF] air tanker financing reverting
back to bank funding.”<br/>
<br/>
This year, plans to raise more than £2 billion from bonds and bank debt to
fund a new fleet of air tankers for the RAF were dealt a blow when it
emerged that bond financing was no longer viable because of lower credit
ratings. This situation is likely to continue until credit markets recover -
and, even then, financing will be expensive, Mr Delfour said.<br/>
<br/>
Jonathan Manley, a credit analyst for Standard & Poor’s, said: “It may be
that PFI projects can’t be achieved or get scaled back down. Certain
investors are limited to what they can invest in.” PFI projects in future
may be forced to raise money solely through more expensive bank financing,
Mr Manley said.<br/>
<br/>
However, those responsible for raising funds for the projects are confident
that there is still an appetite for PFI bonds.<br/>
<br/>
Mel Zuydam, the Highways Agency finance director, who is looking to raise
about £2 billion for the M25 widening this year, said: “I’m watching the
situation but [am] comfortable the financing will be available. It’s likely
we may pay a premium, but we’ll wait and see.”<br/>
<br/>
His views were shared by Andrew Rose, head of projects for Partnerships UK,
which was established by the Treasury in 2000 to support PFI projects.
“We’ve yet not seen any evidence of delays and banks remain active in the
PFI market,” Mr Rose said.<br/>
<br/>
Timothy Stone, who heads the global infrastructure team in KPMG, said that
although it was getting harder to fund projects, with bank financing costing
50 to 60 basis points more than monoline-wrapped bonds, he expected credit
conditions to pick up again by the end of the year.<br/>
<br/>
“Around 5 to 10 per cent of projects could face delays, be scaled back or, in
rare and extreme circumstances, be shelved, but the majority should
ultimately be fine,” Mr Stone said. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Airport bidder the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has today come up with a measure designed to keep their offer within foreign investment guidelines.
The latest Canadian move will further restrict its ability to vote... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 10 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
The New Zealand stock exchange has suspended trading in MFS Living and Leisure shares, after the company failed to provide its preliminary half year announcement.
MFS Living and Leisure is the tourism arm of cash-strapped Australian... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:45 pm
Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York, played a critical behind-the-scenes role in the rescue of Ambac, calling senior bankers to press for a deal during the bind insurer's six-week race to avoid a cut to its triple-A ratings Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:42 pm
Bank of America will come under increasing pressure this week to rescind its offer to put a top Countrywide executive in charge of the companies' combined mortgage business after reports that Countrywide is the subject of a criminal investigation by US authorities Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:37 pm
Ottawa fears new legislation would prohibit Americans buying fuel from Alberta's vast oil sands, with 'unintended consequences for both countries' Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:12 pm
Microsoft would not rush to merge its technology platform with Yahoo's after a takeover of the internet company, even if meant delaying some of the potential benefits to shareholders from any deal, says Microsoft's chief software architect Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:03 pm
With the screenwriters' strike still fresh in the memories of film industry executives, Hollywood studios are scrambling to avoid another damaging walk-out Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:03 pm
Two derivatives trading rows, both involving LCH.Clearnet, Europe's largest clearing house, look set to test the determination of the European Commission to open securities markets to more competition Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:03 pm
The wet weather returned in February but in the rain stakes there are winners and losers.
MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said the rainfall in February was above normal in the North and around Canterbury, about normal... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Mar 2008 | 10:00 pm
Disappointing oil exploration results in the Gulf of Mexico are upsetting the hopes of US oil majors for big new findings in an area free from interference by foreign, state-owned oil companies Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 9:43 pm
A record high dollar hasn't got the better of a Manukau electronics exporter, which grew turnover 60 per cent last year on the back of new manufacturing contracts - including making sirens and flashing lights for the Queensland police.
Nautech... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Mar 2008 | 9:00 pm
The father of failed property investment specialist Blue Chip says he is not the "rich old fiddler" some people think and, like many investors, he is owed money by the business.
Bob Bangerter, who founded Blue Chip with Mark Bryers,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Mar 2008 | 8:00 pm
Howard Dean, party chairman, expects either Obama or Clinton to win the nomination before the party convention and plays down fears that the bitter race would drag on Source: FT.com - US homepage | 9 Mar 2008 | 7:48 pm
Fewer New Zealand businesses are failing than three years ago, with the youngest companies showing the biggest improvement in survival rates.
A review of 100,000 business records by credit reporting agency Dun and Bradstreet shows... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 9 Mar 2008 | 7:00 pm
Reuters - Wall Street analysts are forecasting
flat earnings growth for U.S. companies in the first and second
quarter, a survey by Reuters Estimates shows.
Reuters - As a legal battle between
Barry Diller and John Malone heads to court on Monday, the
biggest surprise may just be that two of the media industry's
largest personalities have let their dispute get this far.
Reuters - U.S. stock index futures edged higher
on Monday after Wall Street's sharp drop on Friday as investors
speculated that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in
an emergency move to shore up the economy.
Reuters - Microsoft Corp would not rush
to merge its technology platform with Yahoo Inc's
after a takeover of the Internet company, according to the
Financial Times, citing an interview with Microsoft chief
software architect Ray Ozzie.
Reuters - U.S. average retail gasoline prices
have reached a new high of almost $3.20 per gallon and will
likely jump another 20 to 30 cents in the next month, worsening
the pain of consumers struggling to make ends meet in an
economic downturn.