| (AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-20 12:25 GMT: Vocento to focus on press operations, internet in Spain until 2010
MADRID (Thomson Financial) - Vocento SA will focus on its press and internet businesses in Spain, aiming to become a leading player in the free press segment, until 2010, CEO Belarmino Garcia said. The media group is also "open to selective international expansion," he said in a presentation on the restructuring of the group's organisation to the investment community. With regard to television, Garcia said Vocento will "explore" the possibility of taking on partners who can complete their offer and provide content. Vocento's restructured business lines are divided up by the local market, which includes press, websites, local television, the national market, including the ABC daily and new markets, including free newspaper Que. The company will provide an update on the business plans for each division in January, Garcia said.
Home buyers suffer when builders flop
The tumbling housing market is claiming a new class of victim: customers of insolvent home builders. In the latest sign of trouble, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Levitt & Sons, a unit of Levitt Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Nov. 9, citing the "sudden and steep" downturn in the Florida housing market. Levitt's move follows bankruptcy filings by a number of local and regional builders, including Neumann Homes Inc. in Illinois, Elliott Building Group in Pennsylvania, Turner-Dunn Homes Inc. in Arizona and Kara Homes Inc. in New Jersey. Many other builders simply close up shop. And the situation is likely to worsen in the first half of next year, says Ivy Zelman, an independent housing analyst. "We're in the first or second inning," Zelman says. "There are going to be a significant number of insolvent builders." Problems galore What a builder's troubles mean for its customers can vary, depending on factors such as state law, contract terms and how long it takes to get the project back on track.
H&R Block boss resigns as chairman, CEO
Mark Ernst has resigned as chairman, president and chief executive of H&R Block Inc., the tax preparation and accounting services company that is reeling from its foray into the collapsing subprime mortgage business. The company said Tuesday that Ernst's replacement as chairman is Richard Breeden, the former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who led a dissident shareholder group that won three seats on the H&R Block board. A retired Aetna Inc. chief financial officer, Alan Bennett, was named interim CEO while H&R Block looks for a permanent replacement. Breeden has criticized the company's diversification into mortgage lending, investment advising and banking, saying it had robbed momentum from its core tax preparation and accounting services business.
Quick Money Sunflashes
FOREIGN BUSINESS POSITIVE: REPORT Foreign-controlled businesses operating in Canada sink large investments into innovation, advanced technology and skilled labour and make valuable contributions to the domestic economy, Statistics Canada reported yesterday. The report also said it's a myth that foreign takeovers lead to the gutting of head-office employment here. BANKS HIT BY U.S. WOES Two of Canada's biggest banks took big charges yesterday reflecting troubles in the U.S. mortgage business and corporate credit markets, but also booked gains from their stake in the restructuring Visa credit card company. .
Irish Funds Industry To Hit $2 Trillion By End-08 -Deloitte
DUBLIN (Dow Jones)--The total assets being managed by Ireland's fund industry is expected to rise to $2 trillion by the end of 2008 from about $1.6 trillion in mid-2007, business consulting firm Deloitte said in a survey Wednesday. Hedge funds will be the main driver of the growth, while more than 40% of respondents named private equity funds in their top three growth areas, it said. The survey found 75% of respondents identified cost containment and productivity as the number one issue facing fund administrators. "This year's survey once again shows that fund administrators are coming under pressure to maintain the level of service they provide," said Brian Forrester, financial services partner at Deloitte. The survey covered 25 funds administering a total of more than $1.3 trillion of assets.
Bangkok Transit Authority to lay off 6,000 bus staff
File photo shows a Thai woman looking out a bus window in Bangkok. The state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA) announced Monday that one-third of its staff, or 6,000 people, would be laid off under a restructuring plan aimed at cutting huge losses. .
Liechtenstein: Ratification Of The Hague Trust Convention In Switzerland And Its Positive Effects On Liechtenstein
As many Swiss banks and lawyers might look to Liechtenstein when setting up trusts for their clients, it is a good opportunity to deal again shortly with the Liechtenstein trust concept and later on with the legal provisions in Switzerland for ratifying the Hague Trust Convention which is beneficial to the trust business. PART I:... .
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