Junk bond investors have had enough of borrowers in Europe eroding safeguards as sales of the high-yield, high-risk debt surge to a record $110 billion. Representatives from at least six firms met in London last week with the Association for Financial Markets in Europe to discuss reinforcing language in documents governing bond sales that protect investors, according to Gary Simmons, director of the group’s high-yield division. Legal & General Investment Management, Castle Hill Asset Management and Pioneer Investments are among money managers listed as members, according to AFME.
Updated 6 Years ago

The new US sanctions against Russian energy and banks have stolen headlines, but the companies have all made statements that damage will be minimal. The sanctions stipulate the companies cannot use US financial institutions for any loans over a 90-day period, limiting them only to only short-term lending, effectively blocking them from the US debt market. However, this is the most severe punishment: the sanctioned will still be able to participate in dollar clearing as well as trading with US entities.
Updated 6 Years ago

Microsoft will cut a record 18,000 jobs next year, as the company’s new CEO Satya Nadella seeks to boost efficiency, according to a company memo on Thursday. “The first step to building the right organization for our ambitions is to realign our workforce. With this in mind, we will begin to reduce the size of our overall workforce by up to 18,000 jobs in the next year,” Satya Nadella said in the memo published by Business Insider.
Updated 6 Years ago

Internet giant Google has reported a 22% jump in revenue during the second quarter period from March through June compared to a year earlier. Revenue rose to $16bn (£9.4bn) and profits were up 6% to $3.4bn, said the firm in its earnings report.
Updated 6 Years ago

Intangis Holdings’ claims on Mainstreet Bank have been withdrawn by International Court of Arbitration, according to a statement from the secretariat of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Intangis recently wrote to AMCON advisers on the ongoing divestment of its equity in Mainstreet Bank, stating that AMCON is procuring a breach on Intangis’ rights under confidentiality and non-circumvention agreement (CNCA) dated November 2, 2009 between Afribank plc and Intangis.
Updated 6 Years ago

Nigeria’s inflation rose 0.2 percentage points to 8.2 percent in June, the fourth consecutive year-on-year increase in the headline index since the price easing seen in February. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the inflation number rose against the 8.0 percent recorded in May, pushed by increases in all divisions that contribute to the index- including food and core sub-indices.
Updated 6 Years ago

A political interest group, the Buhari Vanguard, has urged the former Head of State, Major-General Muhammad Buhari, to declare to contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The group in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Mr. Jasper Azuatalam, described Buhari as the person that fits the description of what the party’s candidate should be.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, has made an appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan, not to re-contest the 2015 presidential election in the interest of Nigeria. Igbokwe, who insisted that he was expressing his personal opinion as an activist and participant in the struggle for the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria, averred that the yet to be announced second term ambition of the president is generating considerable tension in the polity and that it is capable of breaking up the country.
Updated 6 Years ago

Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N1.3bn for a standard rail feasibility study on six rail lines. The approval of the contractual sum was announced by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, shortly after the weekly FEC meeting, while he was briefing State House Correspondents jointly with Transport Minister, Idris Umar, as well as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga.
Updated 6 Years ago

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of adopting anti-democratic tactics, including lawlessness and misuse of the security forces to intimidate and run out the opposition ahead of the 2015 general election. Similarly, the party lamented what it described as new weapon of flawed impeachment process being targeted at the APC state governors, warning that excessive political greed will always have its consequences.
Updated 6 Years ago