LPC Notes - Stage 2

I have updated the Dropbox folder and inserted my notes for Advanced Property Law, CDR and Acquisitions.

Good luck!

LPC Notes

I am sorry I have not posted anything in a very long time as I have been very busy but I will be talking more about that later!

I am currently undertaking the 7 month LPC and so I have completed the first set of exams.

I have made all my notes using the textbook, the iTuorials, workshop notes and Guru notes (which I do not recommend buying!) and you can find these, for free, below.

German nuclear shutdown forces E.ON to cut 11,000 staff

The financial effects of the Fukushima nuclear power crisis continued on Wednesday as Germany's E.ON announced that plans by its government to shut the country's reactors in response to the Japanese disaster would result in up to 11,000 job losses.

As fears mounted that the nuclear shutdown would significantly increase Germany's industrial operating costs – weakening its competitiveness in an already fragile global economy – E.ON announced a swing into the red, a dividend cut, the redundancies and profits warnings for the next three years.

Germany's biggest utility, which on Friday announced an average 15% price rise for its five million domestic UK gas and electricity customers, took a €1.9bn (£1.7bn) charge relating to plant closures and a new tax on spent nuclear fuel rods, pushing the group to its first quarterly loss in 10 years – a second-quarter deficit of €1.49bn.

Sale of MySpace knocks News Corp

Media giant News Corporation has seen its quarterly profits fall 22% on the back of losses caused by the sale of the MySpace social networking website.

The company, whose UK subsidiary News International has been rocked by the phone hacking scandal, made $683m (£423m) net profit in the three months to 30 June - down from $875m last year.

News Corp sold MySpace in June for $35m, having paid $580m for it in 2005.

Stock markets rally as fears of France downgrade abate

European markets have rebounded in early trade after Asian markets steadied overnight.

In London, the FTSE 100 index was up by 1.85%, Germany's Dax index was 2.2% higher and the Cac 40 in France rose 2.1%.

French banking shares were among the biggest gainers, with Societe Generale shares up 6%.

Fears about the financial stability of France and its banks were a key trigger for Wednesday's steep falls.

HSBC sells 195 New York branches for $1bn

The disposal of 195 branches to First Niagara Bank was announced less than 12 hours before the bank publishes its financial results for the first half of the year, which are forecast to show a pre-tax profit of $10.9bn.

Iraq - BP will be paid even when production is disrupted?

BP has been accused of taking a "stranglehold" on the Iraqi economy after the Baghdad government agreed to pay the British firm even when oil is not being produced by the Rumaila field, confidential documents reveal.

Commodities hit

First of all, oil prices are hovering at unsustainable levels close to $120 per barrel.

Then there's the potential debt crises brewing, not in the private banks this time, but the central banks. US officials have been preparing for a possible, though unlikely, default, the dollar is near a record low.

Inflation is climbing, while analysts are warning that slowing growth could hit commodity demand.

Obama announces US deficit deal between party leaders

Just two days before a deadline to lift the so-called debt ceiling, the White House and congressional leaders said the compromise would cut about $2.5 trillion from the deficit over the next 10 years but allow Mr Obama’s administration to carry on borrowing money until 2013.

Iran signs $10 billion gas deal with Syria and Iraq

Iran on Monday signed a preliminary $10 billion deal with Syria and Iraq to export its natural gas, its latest effort to boost its energy sector that has been targeted by international sanctions.

Clinton says 'confident' of deal on US debt crisis

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Hong Kong to extol the virtues of American financial policies and values despite the currently poor state of the economy and the stalemate over the national debt.

Toyota output and sales dip in first half of the year

Japanese auto giant Toyota said on Monday domestic production in the first half of 2011 tumbled 38 percent due to the impact of the March 11 disasters, before mounting a faster-than-expected recovery.
Domestic sales slipped 41 percent in the six months to June to 500,638 units.

Iran will invest $18b to boost south's oil output

Iran will invest some $18 billion in southern oil-rich part of the country during the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-15), said deputy oil minister for planning and supervision on hydrocarbon resources.
Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr further said that until the end of current Iranian year (March 20, 2012), about $3 billion will be invested in the region, Shana reported.

Gulf Air in marketing partnership with Copenhagen

Gulf Air has signed a joint marketing agreement with Copenhagen Connected, the route development programme of Copenhagen, to aggressively drive inbound tourism from the Middle East to Copenhagen through Gulf Air’s Bahrain hub.

The agreement was signed at a recent press conference marking the airline’s inaugural flight to Copenhagen by Gulf Air’s chief commercial officer Karim Makhlouf, and chairman of the Copenhagen Connected Programme steering committee Lars Bernhard Jorgensen.

Banks' loan rejection rates rocket

Labour yesterday blamed the government's economic policies for stymying small business growth as an independent survey showed that a "significant minority" of small businesses seeking loans are failing to gain the credit they seek.

Banks have adopted a ‘take it or leave it’ approach to small business loans with outright rejection rates rocketing sevenfold since before the financial crisis, a key survey shows.

Stock markets across Europe fall on debt fears

Fears that Italy will be forced to seek a bailout sent Italian government bonds falling on Monday, as Europe's most senior finance ministers gathered to discuss the ongoing eurozone debt crisis.

The FTSE Mib sank to a 14 month low.

In Italy shares were down almost 4%, in France the Cac index fell 2.7%, Germany's Dax fell 2.3%, and London's FTSE 100 was down 1%. Banks across Europe were hit hard, with Italy's Unicredit down 6.3%.

Etihad joins with the French railway SNCF

Etihad Airways has ome together with the French National Railway, SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français), to provide passengers with connectivity beyond Paris.


The commercial agreement — Etihad's 32nd codeshare deal, which came into effect yesterday — between the two parties would allow Etihad passengers to book flights beyond Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG), by connecting onward on SNCF's 2,000 km of high-speed TGV rail routes, and vice-versa, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier said yesterday in a statement.

It added that the seamless air-rail connections comprise 20 cities in France, among them Bordeaux, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg.

Portugal's credit rating downgraded to junk status

In early May, I spoke about the Portugal bailout from the EU and IMF.

The credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Portugal's debt to junk status.

Moody's slashed Portugal's debt four notches to Ba2, saying that the country was likely to need a second bail-out before it could raise money in the capital markets.

Based on the conditions imposed on Greece, it was likely that "private sector participation would be required as a precondition" to a second cash injection, said Moody's.

Sale of npower 'threat to energy industry investment'

Gas and electricity giant Npower could be sold for up to £5bn after its German parent company RWE put its future under review.

RWE has hired investment bankers at Goldman Sachs to consider Npower’s future, according to reports, and the options on the table include putting the company up for auction.

Tim Yeo, the MP and chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, said the potential sale is "worrying". 

Greek rescue package will mean a default, warns S&P

Standard & Poor's has warned that current proposals for restructuring Greece's debt would effectively constitute a default.

French banks, which hold some of the biggest exposures to Greek government debt, want to allow the country to extend the maturity of its bonds, which S&P said could be defined as a "selective default".  

The euro fell against the dollar, losing around half a cent to $1.4513, after S&P released its analysis.