FT Update

Tue 3 Nov 2009

RBS and Lloyds aim for £54bn funding
Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain’s part-nationalised banks, will today outline moves to raise a combined £54bn in fresh funding, in a further startling reshaping of Britain’s finance industry.

Friends site sale hits obstacle
The sale of Friends Reunited hit a stumbling block yesterday when it was referred to the Competition Commission over concerns it could damage the online genealogy market.
ITV had agreed to sell the networking site for £25m to Brightsolid, a division of DC Thomson & Co, the newspaper and magazine publisher in August.

Funds back in vogue
Hedge Fund launches are growing in size and number after months of subdued activity in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year.
The revival of fund start-ups is one of the clearest signs yet that the $1,400bn (£854bn) global hedge fund industry is starting to return to better times.

Ford earns’$1bn profit
Ford Motor has made a $1bn (£610m) profit in the third quarter and raised its outlook, saying it was on course to be “solidly profitable” by 2011.

Vodafone’s Ghana deal attracts SFO interest
The UK Serious Fraud Office has contracted Vodafone about its controversial deal to by a controlling stake in Ghana’s third-largest mobile phone operator.
The SFO has not launched an investigation into the deal, but is monitoring allegations of irregularity that have been made in Ghana.

Dragon in Dubai link
Dragon Oil has agreed to become a full subsidiary of Dubai’s national oil company, its majority shareholder, in a deal worth $1.4bn (£693m).

Rolls-Royce wins new Turkish order
Rolls-Royce has won an order worth $350m (£213m) to supply engines for five Airbus A330 aircraft to Turkish airlines, starting in 2010.

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