The rest of today's business news in brief
US bank to withdraw MBA job offers
Bank of America has become the first US bank to withdraw job offers made to MBA students graduating from US business schools this summer, citing conditions laid out in its bailout deal as the reason.
The recently passed $787 billion (€624 billion) stimulus Bill in effect prevents financial institutions that have received money from the US government’s troubled asset relief programme from applying for H1-B visas for highly skilled immigrants if they have recently made US workers redundant.
The bank, which has got $45 billion in bailout funds, is currently digesting the acquisitions of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, which will see thousands of jobs lost. – (Financial Times service)
Olympics already boosting NI firms
The London 2012 Olympics has already generated £60 million (€65.5 million) worth of work for Northern Ireland companies, it was revealed yesterday.
The software development and construction industries benefited, with civil engineers Lagan Construction building a bridge around the Olympic Park. Nine Northern Ireland businesses have secured contracts so far, according to sports minister Gregory Campbell. – (PA)
Iceland’s last big bank nationalised
The global financial crisis claimed a clean sweep of Iceland’s largest banks yesterday after Straumur- Burdaras, the last of the four biggest banks in the country to remain independent, finally succumbed to mounting pressure and was nationalised.
“In spite of its strong capital position and the support of funding banks, Straumur believes its liquidity position is no longer strong enough to sustain activities,” the bank said in a statement. – (Financial Times service)
‘NY Times’ reaches deal over HQ
The New York Times has reached a sale and leaseback agreement with investment firm WP Carey Co and two affiliates for part of its stake in the company’s Manhattan headquarters in a long- anticipated deal to raise $225 million (€178.4 million) to help pay off $1.1 billion in net debt.
The transaction calls for the publisher of the Times and the International Herald Tribune to sell a portion of its stake to WP Carey and enter into a 15-year lease for the property. Annual rental payments start at $24 million in the first year and will increase in subsequent years.
Analysts said the deal came at a high cost for the newspaper, however. – (Financial Times service)
Madoff’s wife to hire her own lawyer
Ruth Madoff, wife of accused fraudster Bernard Madoff, plans to hire her own lawyer, according to a lawyer at the firm that represents the couple.
Mr and Ms Madoff have been represented by Ira Sorkin and Dan Horwitz at Dickstein Shapiro in New York. “Ruth Madoff will be retaining her own counsel,” Mr Horwitz said yesterday.
“The need arises because of her being named in two civil actions.” – (Bloomberg)
