Nadir nabbed
Polly Peck boss guilty
Shareholders who lost money with the collapse of Polly Peck will finally see justice, after its former boss Asil Nadir was found guilty on 10 counts of theft from the conglomerate. Mr Nadir is being charged with theft totalling £34m, but is said to have stolen as much as £146m from Polly Peck, which at its peak was a member of the FTSE 100 worth over £2bn, with interests in textiles, electronics and fruit. It collapsed under a £1.3bn debt mountain in 1990.
Deficit dilemma
Borrowing figures worse than expected
The UK's public finances took another unexpected turn for the worse last month, with the government borrowing £0.6bn in July against forecasts of a £2.2bn surplus. The shortfall was the result of plunging corporation tax receipts, which were £1.7bn lower than last year and included a £1bn drop in receipts from the oil and gas industry. The poor figures prompted further calls from business leaders for chancellor George Osborne to introduce measures to boost economic growth alongside deficit reduction.
Up in the air
Stansted Airport up for sale
Another chapter closed on the long-running saga surrounding the future of Britain's airports, as the owners of BAA caved into the competition regulator's demands that it must dispose of Stansted Airport, which analysts expect will fetch in excess of £1bn. Bidders are likely to include established airport groups, but airline Ryanair also reaffirmed its interest in taking a stake, arguing that it's the only London airport with room for expansion. If it's successful, it would mark the airline's first foray into airport infrastructure.
Losing Facebook
Director defriends social media giant
Shares in social media giant Facebook took another tumble after the expiry of lock-ups saw a key board member dump stock. Director Peter Thiel sold another $396m-worth of shares, taking the veteran tech investor's disposals to $1bn since its controversial flotation. Facebook's shares have halved since coming to market in May, prompting hedge fund manager George Soros to take an $11m punt. Mr Soros also snapped up a $40m stake in Manchester United, which like Facebook has seen its shares come under pressure since it floated in New York last month.
Mining misery
Tough week for mining industry
Miners dominated the financial headlines this week, in particular the mounting problems at Lonmin. As well as the tragic human consequences, the hit to production means debt covenants are likely to be breached, which could see the beleaguered platinum miner seek new funding. Elsewhere, the proposed merger between Glencore and Xstrata faces collapse due to continued opposition from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which owns 12 per cent of Xstrata, while BHP Billiton shelved a $20m expansion plan for its Australian Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine, blaming the slowdown in China.
See BHP puts Olympic Dam on ice
Banking bust-up
Now RBS faces sanctions probe
RBS became the latest bank to face scrutiny from US authorities over claims that it had violated sanctions with Iran, and could face a hefty fine after Standard Chartered agreed a $340m settlement for similar infringements last week. The investigation by the Federal Reserve and US Justice Department was initiated after RBS volunteered information following an 18-month internal review. RBS was also fined $500m in 2010 after subsidiary ABN Amro was found to have violated US sanctions, and remains under investigation in the ongoing Libor probe.
