A round-up of today's other business news in brief ...
Barclays in talks to sell Global Investors
Barclays is in talks to sell Barclays Global Investors (BGI), with US fund manager BlackRock the frontrunner to land the asset manager, according to people familiar with the matter.
BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon are both in talks to buy BGI, in a deal that could be worth about $12 billion (€8.6 billion) and might come early this week, the sources said, who asked not to be named.
The deal could see Barclays take a stake of up to 20 per cent in the enlarged asset manager in a deal structured similar to its planned sale of iShares.
Barclays said it had received proposals for BGI and iShares from a number of parties, including BlackRock, and was continuing talks. – (Reuters)
Lloyds to repay £2.6bn to British government
Lloyds Banking Group will repay about £2.56 billion (€2.95 billion) to the British government, setting the ball rolling as global banks begin paying back emergency bailouts. The British bank said yesterday it would repay the cash after it raised £4.3 billion by selling new shares, becoming the first bank to repay some of the British government’s £37 billion bailout of the bank sector. – (Reuters)
Providence doubles Vermillion production
Irish oil and natural-gas explorer Providence Resources says it has doubled production rates at the Vermillion 60 field in the Gulf of Mexico.
Providence, which holds a 50 per cent working interest in the field, said output was 10 million standard cubic feet of gas a day. – (Bloomberg)
Better industrial orders in Germany
Germany’s economy has shown fresh signs of stabilising, with orders placed in the crucial industrial sector turning for the better. The economics ministry in Berlin said industrial orders in April were unchanged from March. Moreover, it revised March’s figures to show a monthly increase of 3.7 per cent – significantly larger than the 3.3 per cent reported originally.
The latest orders data has added to the evidence that the pace of economic decline in Europe’s largest economy is slowing significantly. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)
Iceland’s $5.44bn loan for Icesave claims
Iceland has agreed to take a $5.44 billion (€3.9 billion) loan from Britain and the Netherlands to repay claims related to Icesave, bringing to a close a seven-month dispute and helping the island draw the next tranche of an international bailout.
Iceland must pay back the loan over 15 years, according to a joint government statement.
Britain will lend £2.35 billion (€2.7 billion), the treasury said, and the Dutch €1.2 billion. It will be interest-only for the first seven years.
Thousands of British and Dutch depositors risked losing their life savings after Landsbanki Islands, which offered the high-interest Icesave online accounts, collapsed with the rest of Iceland’s debt-reliant banking system in October, dragging the island’s currency down with it. The island is now relying on its IMF-led bailout.
