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Former Goldman director will not testify in ongoing insider trading trial
In an unexpected reversal of course, Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs director accused of insider trading, will not testify in his trial according to a letter to the presiding judge. The letter is in direct contradiction to a statement made on Friday afternoon by Gary Naftalis, Gupta’s lawyer, in which he said it would be ‘highly likely’ that his client would testify. Gupta, the former worldwide head of McKinsey, is accused of revealing corporate secrets to his former business partner Raj Rajaratnam, founder of Galleon hedge fund. Prosecutors estimate that Galleon made $13.5m and avoided $3.8m in taxes based on Gupta’s alleged ti... -
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Uncertainty surrounds India’s GAAR implementation
The Indian government decided to defer implementing GAAR for another year after a visit from the US Treasury Secretary in April. General Anti-Avoidance Rules were established to fight tax avoidance by enforcing the country’s tax regulations. The GAAR regulations were part of the proposed Direct Tax Code 2010 to deter sophisticated means of ducking income taxation through legal means. As a result, the regulations were specifically designed to impact multinational corporations that shift assets to tax-free locales and force them to pay tax on these assets. GAAR was originally intended to be instituted in April 2011, but was deferred to April ... -
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Spain downgraded as banks face €112bn hit
Fitch sliced its rating on government debt three notches from A to BBB, barely above junk status, blaming the enormous projected cost of cleaning up the country’s troubled banking sector, the deep recession and soaring national debt. The downgrade came after it emerged European officials were weighing up a bailout programme for Spain that would aid its banking sector while imposing only limited conditionality on Madrid. “Spain’s high level of foreign indebtedness has rendered it especially vulnerable to contagion from the ongoing crisis in Greece,” Fitch said in a statement. A leaked IMF report showed the country needs an immediate ... -
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Facebook investors eat humble pie
The social media giant was plagued with technical problems on its first day of trading, marring it’s highly anticipated stock offering last month. Computer glitches at the Nasdaq delayed the opening of trading by half an hour and kept some investors from buying shares in the morning, selling them later in the day, or even from knowing whether their orders went through. Some investors complained they were left holding shares they didn’t want. Nasdaq have announced plans to hand out $40m in cash and credit to reimburse investment firms that got ensnared by computer glitches and lost money, but the mea culpa from Nasdaq’s CEO Robert Greife... -
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Diageo raises toast to Brazil
Drinks group Diageo is toasting its success in the Brazilian market through the acquisition of spirit brand Ypióca for $469m. The UK-based company who make Guinness, Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Smirnoff vodka has agreed to buy the brand of cachaça from the family-owned Ypióca Agro-industrial group, as it continues to expand in emerging markets. “Brazil is an attractive, fast growing market for Diageo with favourable demographics and increasing disposable incomes,” says Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh. “The acquisition of Ypióca gives us the leading premium brand in the largest local spirits category.” The distiller is expan... -
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Dewey & LeBoeuf files biggest Chapter 11 in US history
New York-based corporate law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has filed for bankruptcy protection in what is widely perceived to be the largest law firm collapse in US history. The international firm, which at one stage employed close to 1,300 lawyers in 12 countries, announced it has filed for Chapter 11 and is seeking for approval to liquidate after failing to find a merger partner. It is understood that Dewey & LeBoeuf owes around $225m to secured lenders and an additional $90m to a range of creditors, according to court papers. Dewey said that negative economic conditions and the firm’s partnership compensation arrangements caused a situa... -
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Supreme Court rules Finance Act 2007 in breach of EU law
The US Supreme Court late on Wednesday handed down a long awaited judgement which upheld the appellants’ claim in the FII group Litigation v HM Revenue & Customs. The judge ruled that a section of the Finance Act 2007 has been in breach of EU law. The court specifically found that the Treasury breached European law by retrospectively blocking tax refund claims. A ballpark figure of up to £5bn of revenue is at stake in the litigation, which may have to be refunded to six multinational companies. One of the key test claimants, the British American Tobacco Group, could receive an estimated refund of £1.2bn. HM Revenue & Customs sai... -
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Alibaba to buy back half of Yahoo stake
China’s biggest e-commerce provider, Alibaba Group Holdings, has come to a $7.1bn agreement after years of negotiations with Yahoo! to buy back half the 40 percent share owned by the American internet giant, the companies have announced. As part of the agreement, Yahoo! will sell half its stake for an estimated $6.3bn in cash and $800m in new Alibaba preferred stock. It is believed the purchase could pave the way for Alibaba to pursue an IPO within the next 18 months. Alibaba Group is currently valued at $30-35bn and is expected to raise the money through a mix of cash, debt and equity.... -
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Dreyfus set to debut capital markets
Global commodities giant Louis Dreyfus announced late Sunday it is planning to issue bonds for the first time in its 160-year history, according to its CEO Serge Schoen. The firm is intending to boost investments by around 40 percent when weighed against the volume of ventures made between 2006 and 2011. The privately held food trading powerhouse will also undertake several acquisitions, leading to estimated spending of around $7bn, according to reports. Dreyfus is set to finance its expansion plans via the capital markets and cash. “We have a strong balance sheet but we want to diversify our sources of capital,” Schoen told reporters. Th... -
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China sees off sea claims with independent deep water drilling
China National Offshore Oil Corp (Cnooc), China’s biggest offshore oil producer, late on Wednesday commenced its first unaided deepwater exploration in the South China Sea. Cnooc’s independent deep water oil drilling marks the beginning of a new era, as it typically relied on foreign partnerships such as the one established with Canadian Husky Energy. The move to go solo comes amid increased tensions over ownership regarding disputed waters in the region and is perceived to be the Chinese’s response to Philippine patrol ships around the area. The part of the sea being drilled is known as the 43/11 block and reaches water depths of aroun...
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