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In another seismic day for Britain's banking industry, he proposed injecting 400m into the buy-to-let lender through his investment vehicle Resolution, casting aside private equity group TPG's proposed 179m investment and doing away with the bank's 258m rights issue. B&B would remain a listed business but become the foundation bank for a group that would acquire more lenders.
Clive Cowdery has a Resolution to bolster Bradford & Bingley
But B&B said last night that it would not enter into negotiations with Resolution because it would bring further uncertainty to the company.
Cowdery leads top investors in move against B&B's TPG deal
HBOS shares tumbled below the rights issue price yesterday as it emerged that a hedge fund run by one of the industry's best-paid managers had taken a gamble on their decline. Harbinger Capital, the fund run by former Barclays Capital head Philip Falcone, revealed it had built up a major short position of 3.29pc in Britain's biggest mortgage lender.
HBOS shares plunge below rights price after shorting shock
Signs of distress are growing among high-street retailers as many of them face up to a hefty quarterly rental bill today in the middle of one of the toughest trading periods in decades.
Retailers reel as rent bills add to misery
The number of property transactions made across the UK dived by more than 13 per cent in May the biggest monthly fall since November as the credit crunch continued to take its toll on the housing and commercial property markets.
Property transactions dive to their lowest level since mid-1990s
The oil market is now dominated by speculators who account for almost three quarters of its activity, new evidence has shown. The latest figures came as crude prices hit new peaks, despite Saudi Arabia's pledge to pump more oil to satisfy global demand for energy.
Speculators' domination may fuel oil price rises
The market took little comfort from Saudi Arabia's pledge for an incremental increase in oil production at the weekend as the price reversed its fall in recent days to rise to $136.45 per barrel, just a few dollars off its record high.
Oil continues to rise as Nigerian rebels attack Shell platform 120 miles offshore
Business confidence has fallen to recession levels in Europe and Japan as the US slump spreads across the world and high oil prices eat into profit margins. The eurozone's PMI index of purchasing managers fell below 50 in May for the first time since the dotcom bust, signalling an outright fall in production.
Eurozone waits in dread for the ECB's next move
The European Central Bank's dilemma over interest rates deepened yesterday as new figures pointed to a toxic cocktail of stagnant growth and spiralling inflation.
Eurozone's stagnant growth and inflation present rates dilemma
The company agreed a settlement that will see it paid an average of $127 (64.86) a tonne for lump iron ore - an increase of 97pc - and $90 a tonne for iron ore fines - an increase of 80pc. Both deals were slightly above market expectations and significantly above the settlements reached by Brazil's Vale, the world's biggest iron ore producer.
Rio doubles price of iron ore for China
The price of buildings, cars and machinery will increase sharply this year because the cost of steel is expected to rise by up to 40 per cent.
Rio Tinto's new iron deal hammers industrial costs