- Northern Rock Gets Emergency Bank of England Funding
- Barclays’s ABN Bid Is Ripe to Spoil
- Countrywide finds $12bn extra fund
- Google to call for web privacy shake-up
- Russo under pressure at Alcatel
- Banks delay sale of First Data loan
- Morgan Stanley may walk from Reddy Ice deal
Northern Rock Gets Emergency Bank of England Funding
- Bloomberg
Northern Rock Plc got emergency funding from the Bank of England, the biggest bailout of a British lender in 30 years, after a freeze in money markets left the mortgage provider unable to finance itself.
Northern Rock shares plunged as much as 26 percent to a six- year low after the company said today the central bank will provide an unspecified amount of credit. The Newcastle, England- based bank is the U.K.’s third-biggest lender by gross mortgages with loans worth 17.4 billion pounds ($35 billion) as of June 30.
The rescue stoked concern among investors and depositors that other financial firms that rely on short-term credit rather than deposits may be vulnerable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling authorized the move, saying the Bank of England will step in as the lender of last resort “where institutions face short-term liquidity difficulties.”
“This is a set of circumstances that I’ve not seen in 25 years,” Chief Executive Officer Adam Applegarth said on a call with journalists. “It’s a substantial program, it is at a penalty rate. The facility will provide a solid ground base.”…
Barclays’s
ABN Bid Is Ripe to Spoil – Wall Street Journal
As the battle to acquire Dutch bank ABN Amro Holding NV enters its final skirmish, an interloper looks increasingly likely to take the prize from Barclays PLC, the bidder that started it all.
Even as Barclays shareholders meet today to approve the British bank’s bid for what promises to be the largest bank deal ever, all indicators suggest that victory will go to a rival consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.
The consortium still faces at least one significant obstacle: raising the money for the bulk of its €71 billion ($98.73 billion) cash bid in a difficult market. But people familiar with the matter say the consortium has virtually cleared two other hurdles: getting a nod of cooperation from ABN Amro and gaining approval from the Dutch Finance Ministry…..
Countrywide finds $12bn extra fund
- Financial Times
Countrywide Financial, the largest US home lender, said on Thursday that it had secured an additional $12bn in financing from its banks, sending its beleaguered shares up nearly 14 per cent by the close in New York.
The announcement came as Countrywide said it had funded 17 per cent fewer home loans last month, after the credit squeeze cut off sources of funding and raised the cost of borrowing.
The fresh financing for Countrywide came after Bank of America last month said it would invest $2bn in the lender through the purchase of preferred shares that can be converted into common stock at $18 per share….
Google to call for web privacy shake-up
- Financial Times
Google will on Friday attempt to take the high ground in the debate over internet privacy, by calling for new international laws to be set up to protect personal information online. An international body such as the United Nations or the OECD should draw up new guidelines, Peter Fleischer, global privacy counsel for Google will tell Unesco members at a conference in Strasbourg on Friday.
Google has become a focal point for a debate on internet privacy since European Union data protection bodies earlier this year questioned the length of time the company kept data on individuals using its search engine. Google was also criticised by Privacy International, the human rights group, as being potentially “hostile” to privacy.
Since then, Google has taken steps to improve its image. It agreed to limit the time it keeps search data to just 18 months, and has started working with Privacy International in order to be removed from the organisation’s blacklist…..
Russo under pressure at Alcatel
- Financial Times
Patricia Russo, the US-born chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent, is coming under pressure from French board members to bolster her management team after the telecommunications equipment supplier on Thursday issued its third profit warning this year.
It is understood that executives in the Paris-based headquarters of the Franco-American group have become increasingly frustrated by Ms Russo’s absences as she divides her time between France and the US.
One person close to the situation said there was no move to oust Ms Russo but Thursday’s warning of a severe cut in sales expectations had fuelled pressure for changes to the way the management team was
organised……
Banks delay sale of First Data loan
- Wall Street Journal
The sale of a $16bn loan package tied to KKR’s purchase of First Data, the US credit card processing group, has been delayed until at least next week by the banks funding the takeover.
The decision to postpone the sale comes despite weeks of negotiations between KKR and the banks over ways to make the issue more palatable to investors amid the credit squeeze.
The sale of the First Data loans is seen as a key test of investor appetite for billions of dollars in loans tied to leveraged buy-outs struck during healthy credit markets earlier this year…..
Morgan Stanley may walk from Reddy Ice deal
- Reuters
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has threatened to pull its debt financing from the leveraged buyout of Reddy
Ice, according to a regulatory filing, amid a fight with the buyer over deal terms.
The maker of packaged ice agreed to be bought by hedge fund GSO Capital Partners in July for $1.1 billion, with Morgan Stanley providing around $700 million of debt financing for the buyout.
According to a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Morgan Stanley believes that GSO Capital changed certain terms without the bank’s consent.
The filing says that GSO sought an extension of the go-shop period and delay in the debt marketing schedule, with a shareholder date vote set for October 12. Morgan Stanley appeared to approve of the changes at first, but later objected to them…..
