Louis Dreyfus IPO unlikely in the short term-source
The Financial Times reported on Monday the French company
had hired bankers to look at a listing of its commodities
trading arm, or a partial sale to a sovereign wealth fund.”Taking into account the state of the (stock) market, there
is only little chance that we see a transaction in the short
term,” the source close to the company said.”A private investor is less unlikely that an IPO,” he added.
Accounting chief stands by Greek debt intervention
By Huw JonesLONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A global accounting standard
setter said on Thursday he would intervene again if banks
wrongly apply rules to avoid proper writedowns on Greek
sovereign debt and other assets.International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) chairman
Hans Hoogervorst said on Thursday the financial crisis was
caused by too many people looking the other way when applying
rules and regulators being “bossed around by banks”.”I am going to stand up for this organisation and stand up
for our standards,” Hoogervorst told the board’s trustees at a
webcast meeting in Paris.Hoogervorst had written to the European Securities and
Markets Authority (ESMA) saying banks in the European Union
should have booked bigger losses on Greek government bond
holdings in their second-quarter results.Some banks had 50 percent writedowns in line with market
discounts but others, particularly in France, opted for 21
percent, saying there was no proper liquid market reference.Yves-Thibault de Silguy, a French trustee, said he was
surprised to learn about the letter after it was leaked and
called on Hoogervorst to explain himself.De Silguy said ESMA and the European Banking Authority had
failed to reach consensus on Greek debt writedown levels and the
letter might be interpreted as taking sides.There was a need to ensure total independence of
institutions and for a more formalised process to deal with such
situations in future, de Silguy said.Hoogervorst was broadly backed by the trustees who agreed to
a more formal internal consultation process on public positions
in future, but several cautioned against a bureaucratic system.Inconsistent application of rules sent out a wrong message
to the world, Hoogervorst said.”A lot of people in the outside world are not friendly to
IFRS (international accounting standards) and say ‘yes, you have
all these countries applying IFRS but the truth is they are all
doing it in different ways so what is the worth of this global
standard’,” Hoogervorst said.The United States is due shortly to say whether it will make
IASB rules mandatory but U.S. critics say there are
inconsistencies in how they are applied in over 100 countries.Hoogervorst said enforcement of rules — mandatory for
listed companies in the 27-nation EU — was a matter for
regulators and not the IASB.There was consultation with a few board members that took
“some of the sharp edges” off the letter but a more formal
process could be introduced in future, he said. “Still, I feel
good about what we did and the ultimate outcome of this. By the
end of this year we will have consistent application in Europe,”the former Dutch finance minister and securities regulator
said.With the third-quarter earnings season having started in
Europe, Greek bonds are trading at a discount of about 60
percent, bigger than at the end of the last period.Accounting industry officials said last month that even
banks that had 50 percent writedowns last time would find it
hard to argue against further hits.ESMA and the IASB are now looking past third quarter
statements to annual results which have to be fully signed off
by auditors who are pushing for realistic writedowns.One trustee told the meeting that “regulators knew exactly
in my mind what they were doing” when it came to inconsistent
application of IASB rules.
UPDATE 1-Chrysler, UAW reach tentative labor pact
The agreement follows agreements between the UAW and
Chrysler’s Detroit rivals General Motors Co and Ford
Motor Co .The GM contract was ratified by workers late last month and
Ford workers are in the process of voting that ends Oct. 18.In a press statement, UAW President Bob King said the pact
will create 2,100 U.S. jobs and commit Chrysler to $4.5 billion
investment in vehicle production.Further details of the agreement will be issued later on
Wednesday by the UAW. The Chrysler contract was not expected by
labor analysts to be as generous for workers as those at GM and
Ford, due to the automaker’s relative poor financial position.Chrysler Group is managed and majority=owned by Italy’s
Fiat SpA .
