Some economists are worried that farmland prices are nearing bubble territory. How bad can it be if no one’s heard of it?
View original post here: The market ‘bubble’ you’ve never heard of
Category : Business, World News
Deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes says he has “seen and heard” banks making racist decisions on lending to businesses.
Continued here: Hughes attacks ‘racist’ bankers
Category : Business, World News
A London city trader with Swiss bank UBS who lost £1.4bn had been “told off” a year earlier for exceeding trading limits, a court has heard.
See the original post: £1.4bn trader had earlier warning
|
Mitt Romney Will Fix the American Economy
Democratic Underground Yes, you heard me correctly, Mitt Romney will fix the US economy in the same way Arnold Rothstein fixed the 1919 World Series. Romney will set the rules and his appointees will make regulatory decisions that favor Sheldon Adleson, the Koch Brothers and … Category : World News Apple’s legal motion to have some Samsung mobile phones banned in the US will now be heard in court in December, a judge says. Go here to read the rest: Date set over Samsung ‘phone ban’ FORTUNE — “You never know, it could be the next Instagram.”I have heard that line, or some variation thereof, from venture capitalists more than a dozen times since Facebook (FB) agreed to acquire the mobile-sharing site back in April for “$1 billion.” It’s supposed to mean that overpaying can sometimes pay off, and that big returns aren’t always predicated on helping to build large, sustainable businesses. Excerpt from: As Facebook loses value, so does Instagram Category : Business The head of HSBC has apologised at a US Senate committee hearing which heard that HSBC provided a conduit for “drug kingpins and rogue nations”. Go here to see the original: HSBC was used by ‘drug kingpins’
Tim Wright’s claim against IPL cricket franchise for breach of contract to be heard at Royal Courts of Justice in London A £10m dispute between an Indian Premier League cricket franchise and its former chief executive will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday. Tim Wright is suing the Deccan Chargers franchise for breach of contract after he claims he was constructively dismissed in January 2009. Wright, who held a senior position at marketing group IMG, had joined as chief executive seven months earlier, and was taken on after the team finished last in the inaugural premier league season. After he reshuffled the management and the team, the Chargers won the competition in the following season. But he claims he was then asked to move back to London to work, and subsequently told it would be better for the two sides to go their separate ways. He maintains his employment deal with the Chargers meant he was entitled to the multimillion-pound payment if his contract was ended, and decided to sue the Chargers for the money he believed he was due. Deccan however accused him of absconding and claimed he was “avoiding India for fear of being questioned by immigration officials/local police”. Wright rejects the allegations, calling them “without any foundation whatsoever”. He won the right for his case to be heard in the UK, despite Deccan attempting to convince the courts that India had jurisdiction. Wright became involved with the Chargers following his work on the establishment of the Indian Premier League during his time at IMG.
Michael Cherney, who claims he is owed $1.2bn, is challenged over supposed friendship with Russian oligarch Michael Cherney, the businessman suing Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska for $1.2bn (£770m), is a criminal who regularly met with organised crime bosses and extorted millions of pounds in protection money, a courthas heard. Deripaska, the influential oligarch who counts Lord Mandelson and Nat Rothschild among his friends, feared for his life and had no option but to pay the cash to Uzbekistan-born Cherney and create a pretence that they were close friends, the high court was told. Cherney was also linked to guns and fake passports and accused of behaving as if he was in the Wild West. Thomas Beazley QC told the court: “Mr Cherney surrounded himself with criminal characters. They were his network, they were part of his modus operandi, and he used them to … put pressure on Mr Deripaska.” Cherney, who now lives in Israel, claims Deripaska owes him $1.2bn because he was promised a 20% stake in the latter’s aluminium company, Rusal, and has produced a contract to the court. But Beazley said: “We say that this document is a sham. It is one of the very few documents produced by Mr Cherney, but it is demonstrably not a genuine document.” The court heard the pair seemed to have grown close – one of Cherney’s associates, Sergei Popov, was made godfather to Deripaska’s daughter – but that this was arranged to cover up the fact that Deripaska had to pay krysha (protection money). On one occasion Cherney was arrested with his wife, Anna Tupikova, at Heathrow airport for attempting to enter the UK under false Polish passports. At the time, Cherney claimed he bought the passports in good faith from a man called Dimitri who he met at a beach bar in Miami, Florida, paying between $550 and $700 for each document. He claimed he was told he could use a Polish passport because his grandfather was from Poland, the court heard. Similar fake passports linked to Cherney and his associate Anton Malevsky were found in a car stopped in Switzerland in 1994. Also in the car were a Walther PPK gun and two silencers. Beazley told the court: “It is a clear example of Mr Cherney and Mr Malevsky engaging in criminality and organised crime, and not consistent with being a proper but non-conventional businessman.” The La Reserve hotel in Geneva, where rooms can cost up to £2,000 a night, was referred to as “a place where Mr Cherney frequently met with his criminal associates”. The case, which is expected to last several weeks when it restarts in September, could see up to 70 witnesses called, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. Cherney will give evidence via video link from his Israeli home because he is wanted in Spain for questioning in relation to a money-laundering investigation. Justice Andrew Smith said he would allow at least one witness to remain anonymous over fears of reprisals for revealing the extent of extortion in Russia, which both sides agree was rife in the 1990s. The trial continues.
Blair persuaded Qatari emir to contact Patrick McKillen, who was seeking funding to buy majority stake, high court hears
Tony Blair brokered a funding agreement between the Qatari royal family and an Irish property investor in a deal to buy three of London’s most prestigious hotels, a court has heard. The former prime minister gave free advice to friend and businessman Patrick McKillen, who was trying to buy a majority stake in the capital’s famous Claridge’s, Berkeley and Connaught hotels. In 2010 Blair also asked the then City minister, Lord Myners, to lobby on behalf of McKillen in a bid to avoid the company’s £660m debt falling into the Irish government’s toxic debt pile. Blair personally persuaded the Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad, to contact McKillen, who was seeking £70m to buy a controlling stake in Maybourne Hotel Group, from billionaires David and Frederick Barclay. Emails between McKillen’s staff and Tony Blair Associates reveal the ex-prime minister’s firm was willing to approach leaders in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in the search for finance. Blair’s former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, was also willing to offer his help, according to documents. It led to a close relationship between Blair’s firm and McKillen, with the businessman and former PM’s representatives meeting nearly every week. The high court in London heard that the colourful Belfast-born businessman met Sheikh Hamad’s son Sheikh Jassim in the lobby of Claridge’s to discuss a possible investment. He said: “During the meeting Sheik Jassim said that Tony Blair and his father [Sheikh Hamed] had been doing business in Doha and the issue of Maybourne came up. Tony Blair had suggested that they should make contact with Paddy McKillen.” He denied the Qatari deal was done by Blair acting as his agent. He said: “No, it came purely from a discussion in Doha between an ex head of state and head of state. I’m not sure what business they were doing but the two gentlemen are very close.” But McKillen and the Qataris fell out over the deal – the businessman called the Middle Eastern leaders “scum” – and accused them of changing the terms of their agreement. Blair then acted as an “honest broker” between the two to rekindle the deal, the court heard. McKillen and Blair first met at the economic forum in Davos in 2006 and reconnected in 2010 through the PR guru Matthew Freud. The hotel group was in trouble and faced the prospect of being taken over by the Irish government’s toxic debt accounts. Blair was worried that this could lead to the British landmarks being sold too cheaply, leaving Irish taxpayers covering the debts. He then suggested Lord Myners could be used to lobby for the debts to not be taken on by Ireland and help McKillen raise the necessary funds to finance the deal. It led to the court revelation that McKillen had approached 19 investors. These included detailed discussions with the billionaire Hong Kong property tycoon Walter Kwok, recently arrested as part of a bribery investigation in the country. Blackstone, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, Avington Financial and Global Asset Capital Europe, were among others McKillen approached. McKillen, who owns 36% of Maybourne Hotel Group, is suing the Barclay brothers, alleging they used illegal means to seize control of the company. He claims they conspired to side-step his legal right, under a first-refusal agreement, to increase his stake to more than 50%. He is trying to buy a 20% stake from the third owner Derek Quinlan, a former Dublin tax inspector. The Barclays claim McKillen was not entitled to the pre-emption agreement because he did not have enough funds for the purchase. He has been accused of having to approach “non-traditional” lenders because normal banks “wouldn’t have touched a proposal like this with a bargepole”. The case continues.
|