| Quebecor World to sell new stock, debt in refinancing plan
MONTREAL - Quebecor World Inc. (TSX:IQW) says it will sell up to $778 million worth of additional shares and debt securities to investors and to its controlling shareholder, Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B), in a refinancing of its debt and credit facilities. The printing company, which historically forms the core of the Quebecor business empire, announced Tuesday that it will sell up to $213 million worth of its subordinate voting shares to the public through a syndicate of underwriters. In addition, Quebecor Inc. will pay about $65 million for a combination of multiple voting shares and subordinate voting shares in order for the parent company to maintain the level of its current economic interest in Quebecor World. .
How to stop restaurant tip fraud
If you pay your restaurant bills with with a credit card, there's a small chance a crooked waiter will jack up the tip by scribbling the amount you added. If you don't go over your receipts and compare them to your credit card statement each month, you'll never know if you've been a victim of this form of fraud.I know for a fact this has happened to me at least once. I had a meal at Mexicali Concina Cantina in Studio City, CA. I paid with a credit card and left a cash tip. When I got my credit card statement, I happened to have the receipt handy, and I discovered that I had been overcharged by exactly ten dollars.I called my credit card company, and they reversed the charge. Punny Money has a way to help you catch tip fraud without having to compare your receipts to your statements (you do need to save your receipts, though).You use a checksum method.
New Merrill CEO needs to make peace, master risk
NEW YORK: Merrill Lynch & Co Inc's new chief executive officer John Thain will be under pressure to move quickly to limit an exodus of talent while installing risk management procedures that gain the confidence of investors. A US$8.4bil credit implosion at Merrill during the third quarter cost Stan O'Neal his job as chairman and chief executive and tarnished the company's reputation. Former NYSE Euronext CEO Thain, named on Wednesday as O'Neal's replacement, inherits about US$27bil in assets underpinned by risky subprime mortgages. Since many of those assets are hard to buy or sell, Thain may have to decide whether Merrill has written them down aggressively enough. Some analysts fear the value of collateralised debt obligations and other troubled securities might be reduced by as much as US$10bil more. Another concern is whether Merrill will have to make significant job cuts to a global workforce that tops 64,000. Thain may also need to calm some edgy quarters within the company's retail brokerage division.
President vetoes health and education bill
President Bush, using his veto pen and bully pulpit, contended Tuesday that congressional Democrats are spending money like "a teenager with a new credit card" and funding the spree with tax increases in every bill. Escalating an ongoing budget battle with Democratic-controlled Capitol Hill, the president warned that the spending poses a threat that an economy he called challenged but resilient might not weather. "Higher taxes would mean fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs, a tougher time for workers trying to get ahead, and a greater likelihood of a slowdown across our economy," Bush told a friendly business audience in a converted movie house in this city across the Ohio River from Louisville, Ky. "They're coming at you with new taxes, and I'm going to do everything in my power to stop them." The president vetoed a $606 billion measure financing federal education, health and labor programs for the budget year that began Oct.
Russian lawmakers ratify deal to restructure Cuba's debt
MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's lower house of parliament ratified on Friday an intergovernmental agreement on restructuring Cuba's $166 million post-Soviet debt to Russia. Under the agreement, the debt will be restructured over a period of ten years, with a four-year grace period and a 5% rate for arrears. The debt is to be repaid in euros. The deal, signed in Havana on September 28, 2006, does not cover Cuba's debt to the Soviet Union, which is subject to separate discussions and is estimated at $26 billion. .
|
