Cinven readying 5bn euro fundraising
Mar 23, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
European private equity firm Cinven has kicked off a fundraising drive for its fifth buyout fund, aiming to gather up to 5bn euro ($7.1bn) for new deals, people familiar with the situation said. The buyout firm, whose investments include Pizza Express group Gondola Holdings and Dutch cable operator Ziggo, is hoping to buck tough fundraising […]
True Finns chief wants to renegotiate euro fund
Mar 23, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The leader of the populist True Finns party, vying for a key role in the next Finnish government, has said he would demand to renegotiate a package of EU measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis. “Considering the current preliminary information… we will not accept it,” Timo Soini told Reuters in a telephone interview. […]
UK sees slower growth, above-target inflation
Mar 23, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Britain has cut its economic growth forecast and said inflation would remain above target this year and next in a budget that stuck to ambitious deficit-busting goals. Seeking to support a faltering economy, finance minister George Osborne said corporation tax would be cut by two percentage points to 26 percent from April, rather than by […]
Rising China threatens US clout in Latin America
Mar 16, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Largely shut out by traditional international lenders, Argentina still had a place to turn last year for the billions of dollars it needed to renovate its decrepit railway system – Beijing. The $10bn package agreed with the China Development Bank was another clear sign of China’s surging influence in Latin America, transforming the region’s economies […]
Global supply chain rattled by Japan quake, tsunami
Mar 14, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Global companies from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders faced disruptions to operations after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan destroyed vital infrastructure and knocked out factories supplying everything from high-tech components to steel. Thousands of people have been killed and millions have been left without water, electricity, homes or heat after the 8.9 magnitude quake triggered […]
Huge response to Irish Nationwide debt buyback
Mar 10, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Nationalised lender Irish Nationwide has had a near 100 percent take-up for its coercive buyback of £146.2m ($236m) of subordinated debt at an 80 percent discount. The lender, being wound down as part of an EU/IMF bailout, said investors holding £125.7m of bonds due 2016 and £20.5m of notes due 2018 had agreed to the […]
Little Britain stands back as eurozone advances
Mar 09, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Do what you like. Just count us out. That, in essence, is the message that Britain is sending its European partners as the 17 countries that share the euro move towards closer economic integration. In a departure from half a century of British diplomacy, PM Cameron has adopted a strategy of benign disengagement from the […]
Will it be Obama vs the economy in 2012?
Mar 04, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
With a leading Republican candidate yet to emerge, the biggest risk to President Obama’s quest for a second term next year is a jobless rate that has hovered between 9 and 10 percent for months. March 4’s jobless report is expected to show nonfarm payrolls soared in February by 185,000 jobs, but the overall unemployment […]
Nedbank’s FY profit rises as bad debts decline
Feb 28, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
South Africa’s Nedbank beat expectations with a nine percent increase in annual profit, helped by a fall in bad debts, and said it expected further growth in the coming year. South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, like its rivals, was lacerated by bad debts in 2009, after a recession slashed more than a million jobs and left […]
Company of the decade
Feb 24, 2011
Jeremy Parkinson
News
While crafting the accolade of Company of the Decade, it has become the opinion of the World Finance editorial team that – more than any other time in the past hundred years – the preceding 10 years has been the time for businesses to shine. During its highs and lows, the global economy of the […]