Spanish misery compounds eurozone
Jun 14, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The country’s credit rating now teeters barely above junk status, amid growing fears it will sink still further after being shut out of international markets. The borrowing interest rates currently stand at the highest they’ve been since the euro’s inception, with the yield on Spain’s 10-year bonds shooting up to 6.86 percent. Last weekend, eurozone […]
Hedge assets to gain $1trn each year for next five
Jun 12, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The predictions come as the trade evolves beyond its entrepreneurial, private roots to meet investor and regulator demands for greater transparency and more robust operations. A recent Citigroup survey predicted that hedge funds could lure $2trn in new money to investment vehicles long associated with mutual-fund companies and other institutional managers including “long-only” funds that […]
Former Goldman director will not testify in ongoing insider trading trial
Jun 11, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
In an unexpected reversal of course, Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs director accused of insider trading, will not testify in his trial according to a letter to the presiding judge. The letter is in direct contradiction to a statement made on Friday afternoon by Gary Naftalis, Gupta’s lawyer, in which he said it would […]
Uncertainty surrounds India’s GAAR implementation
Jun 11, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The Indian government decided to defer implementing GAAR for another year after a visit from the US Treasury Secretary in April. General Anti-Avoidance Rules were established to fight tax avoidance by enforcing the country’s tax regulations. The GAAR regulations were part of the proposed Direct Tax Code 2010 to deter sophisticated means of ducking income […]
Spain downgraded as banks face €112bn hit
Jun 08, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Fitch sliced its rating on government debt three notches from A to BBB, barely above junk status, blaming the enormous projected cost of cleaning up the country’s troubled banking sector, the deep recession and soaring national debt. The downgrade came after it emerged European officials were weighing up a bailout programme for Spain that would […]
Facebook investors eat humble pie
Jun 07, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The social media giant was plagued with technical problems on its first day of trading, marring it’s highly anticipated stock offering last month. Computer glitches at the Nasdaq delayed the opening of trading by half an hour and kept some investors from buying shares in the morning, selling them later in the day, or even […]
Diageo raises toast to Brazil
May 30, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
Drinks group Diageo is toasting its success in the Brazilian market through the acquisition of spirit brand Ypióca for $469m. The UK-based company who make Guinness, Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Smirnoff vodka has agreed to buy the brand of cachaça from the family-owned Ypióca Agro-industrial group, as it continues to expand in emerging markets. […]
Dewey & LeBoeuf files biggest Chapter 11 in US history
May 29, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
New York-based corporate law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has filed for bankruptcy protection in what is widely perceived to be the largest law firm collapse in US history. The international firm, which at one stage employed close to 1,300 lawyers in 12 countries, announced it has filed for Chapter 11 and is seeking for approval […]
Supreme Court rules Finance Act 2007 in breach of EU law
May 24, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
The US Supreme Court late on Wednesday handed down a long awaited judgement which upheld the appellants’ claim in the FII group Litigation v HM Revenue & Customs. The judge ruled that a section of the Finance Act 2007 has been in breach of EU law. The court specifically found that the Treasury breached European […]
Alibaba to buy back half of Yahoo stake
May 21, 2012
Jeremy Parkinson
News
China’s biggest e-commerce provider, Alibaba Group Holdings, has come to a $7.1bn agreement after years of negotiations with Yahoo! to buy back half the 40 percent share owned by the American internet giant, the companies have announced. As part of the agreement, Yahoo! will sell half its stake for an estimated $6.3bn in cash and […]