Flagellating Sir Fred won't save Gordon Brown
Labour's bid to sacrifice City scapegoats doesn't absolve them of their role in financial crisis, says Will Self
Oligarch Khodorkovsky in new trial
A Russian oligarch who clashed with Vladimir Putin and was jailed for fraud and tax evasion has gone on trial over new charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was given an eight-year prison sentence in 2005, could spend a further 22 years in prison if he... [continued]
People: Medvedev challenged by Khodorkovsky 
Khodorkovsky - the man who Putin fears
ITV axes 600 jobs
Broadcaster ITV is axing 600 jobs as it struggles to cope with the collapse of advertising revenue caused by the recession. The announcement came as ITV reported a loss of £2.7bn for 2008 after a huge write-down in the value of its assets. Chairman Michael Grade, a TV... [continued]
Asian Markets show tentative gains
Asian Markets rose as investors on hopes China will redouble its efforts to bolster economic growth. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.9 percent to 7,293.60. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.6 percent. China’s Premier Wen is expected to announce a new stimulus package when the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress begins in Beijing tomorrow. The US Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.6 percent yesterday after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that policy makers may need to inject further capital to the banking system beyond the $700 billion already approved.
What Britain could have bought with the £1.3tr banking bail-out
BP may freeze dividends
BP, Britain’s largest company, is expected to freeze its dividend payments at 2008 levels, reported the Financial Times. This would be the first time BP has not increased its dividend in a decade. The fall in the price of oil to under $45/barrel is cutting into the energy company’s growth plans. BP paid out more in dividends than any other British company last year, accounting for 11% of the £58.6bn paid by the members of the FTSE All-Share index. Chief Executive Tony Hayward warned in BP’s annual strategy presentation that he didn’t “expect a quick recovery” in the oil market.
Renationalisation can cure other British failures
People: Lord Brown denies he is called elf
Rock boss gets £800,000 payout
Adam Applegarth, former CEO of Northern Rock, received over £800,000 in pay and pension top-ups last year because he failed to find another job, reported the Guardian. “Disgraced” Applegarth quit in November 2007 after bringing the 158-year-old lender to the brink of collapse. His severance deal awarded him a year's pay of £731,000 until he found another job. The Newcastle-based bank also paid out £108,000 in pension top-ups. The news comes as the bank confirmed it lacked any capital of its own and lost nearly £1.4bn for 2008, mainly due to bad loans.
The Mole: Goodwin is not the only fat cat to escape with government swag
GM to go belly-up in Europe
GM warned its entire European operations could go belly-up within weeks unless governments dole out state aid, reported the Independent. The company employs 50,000 people across the EU, including 3400 at Vauxhall’s operations in Luton and Ellesmere Port. The car company has already received £9.5bn in aid from the US, but asked for an additional £4.2bn from European governments last month. “Beleaguered” CEO Fritz Henderson warned that bankruptcy may come as soon as the second quarter of this year. GM’s requests for £3bn from bailout funds in Germany have met with a “lukewarm” response.
Are GM, Ford and Chrysler too big to fail?
Private equity takes bite of Hovis
Premier Foods, the UK’s largest manufacturer of branded food products and the owner of Hovis Bread, is preparing to announce a £400m investment from private equity firm Warburg Pincus, reported the Daily Telegraph. The proposal to involve a private equity buyer represents an “about-turn” by Premier, who has debts of £1.8bn and until recently was expected to raise money from existing investors. If Warburg Pincus does take a stake in Premier, it would be the first of many expected 'pipe' (private investment in public equity) deals led by buyout groups.
China looks to rescue package
China's Premier Wen Jiaobao will likely announce another stimulus package tomorrow, reported Bloomberg. Chinese shares rose on hopes increased spending will boost earnings after an faling exports collapse brought the economy its worst growth rates in seven years. The Communist Party’s Politburo has promised that a "massive" increase in government investment this year and Standard Chartered Bank says the current package may be doubled. The world's third largest economy has already announced 4 trillion yuan (£417bn) in spending plans.
How developing countries can save the bankrupt West
...in brief..................
ITV axes 600 jobs & Bernanke’s blast
ITV announced it will fire 600 employees and suspend its dividend, reported the Daily Telegraph. Chairman Michael Grade said that conditions in the advertising market were the "most challenging" he'd experienced in over 30 years. ITV's operating profits were worse than expected, down 32% for the year…………
Companies are cutting the jobs of older and more expensive workers and replacing them with younger and cheaper employees reported the Independent. According to the latest expert report on the jobs market, last month 28 per cent of employers filled posts with staff on lower salaries than their predecessors, up from 7.7 per cent in September…………
Former RBS directors could be sued over Fred Goodwin’s lucrative £16m pension deal, reported the Guardian. The Chief Executive of UK Financial Investments said that former RBS Chairman Tom McKillop and former RBS director Bob Scott could face legal action for allowing Goodwin to retire at 50 rather than forcing him to resign…………
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “blast” at American International Group in Senate testimony yesterday means that regulators may well impose further curbs on risk and concentration in the financial-services industries, reported Bloomberg. Bernanke said there wasn’t a single episode in the last 18 months that made him angrier than AIG’s actions…………
Swiss bank UBS has turned to former finance minister and elder statesman Kaspar Villiger as chairman after Peter Kurer resigned, reported the Financial Times. Kurer joined the board less than a year ago, stepping into the breach after Marcel Ospel resigned…………
Australian growth fell for the first time in eight years, reported the Times. Government figures showed the economy shrunk by 0.5 percent despite government attempts to kick start the economy with two stimulus packages worth more than £23bn…………
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