Alitalia gets last-minute rescue

An Italian investors‘ group has said it will go ahead with a rescue offer for the airline Alitalia, despite the lack of agreement with some trade unions.

The group, the Cai, said it had made a binding offer - shortly after walking out of negotiations over the airline. Read more

Fire fear sparks battery recall

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.

Sony said the recall came after 40 instances of overheating, including four cases where users had minor burns. Read more

UK Treasury Facing Multi-Billion Claim Over Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander

The proposed claim surrounds the transferring of the assets of KSF’s UK subsidiary. Kaupthing has instructed the international law firm Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP to begin a preliminary inquiry  and the law firm is also considering whether it can act on behalf of KSF’s (Isle of Man) depositors.

Michael Tackley and Richard Beresford, both partners at Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP, and leading banking counsel John Jarvis QC attended a meeting at the bank in Reykjavik earlier this month.

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Broker Arm Of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Bought By Management

Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Capital Markets have been bought out by its management and will now concentrate on the wealth management sector.

The new company, to be named Singer Capital Markets is a separate legal entity from ex-parent company Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (who have recently been bought out by Williams de Broe following it going into administration).

The company had already owned 67% of the company and the remaining shares have been bought through private equity of staff and management. The company will continue to work with no external funding or borrowing.

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Barclays seeks Middle East cash

British bank Barclays has announced a proposal to raise up to £7.3bn to strengthen its balance sheet.

The money will be raised from the state investment funds and royal families of Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Read more

Fire fear sparks battery recall

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.

Sony said the recall came after 40 instances of overheating, including four cases where users had minor burns. Read more

Employers predict redundancy rise

Employers predict a sharp rise in redundancies brought on by the current financial crisis, a survey says.

A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey says older workers will bear the brunt of job losses. Read more

Bank of Japan makes rare rate cut

The Bank of Japan has cut its main interest rate from 0.5% to 0.3% - its first reduction for seven years.

The move followed a global wave of rate cuts to contain the financial crisis. Japan has the lowest interest rates in the developed world. Read more

Warning over pension scheme funds

Pension scheme trustees are being warned they should not demand extra cash from companies to plug holes in pension funds.

They are being told that the extra pressure could put too much strain on firms on the brink of a recession. Read more

Oligarchs’ woes?

By Konstantin Rozhnov
Business reporter, BBC News

Among those hardest hit by the global financial crisis are Russia’s super-rich oligarchs, who are being forced to go cap in hand to Kremlin, begging for a bailout - though help will not come for free.

According to some estimates, more than two thirds of the oligarchs’ $300bn (£183bn) wealth mountain has evaporated, leaving them with a paltry $70bn to weather what could turn into a global recession. Read more

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