An EU-IMF support package of EUR45bn would only fill liquidity needs of the first year. A multi-year package of EUR90bn could provide Greece the breathing space to implement the fiscal adjustment.

As the contagion risk of a debt restructuring at this point could be significant, it is irrational for the EU and the IMF to push Greece into any restructuring early on as part of its bailout package – even if a restructuring cannot be excluded at a later point. Liquidity-focused exchanges of short-dated for longer-dated bonds would not help much and could even worsen solvency.

Mr McKeon is extremely well connected, at government and ministerial level, with most of the oil and gas ministries in North Africa and the Middle East.

A founding shareholder and former executive director of Circle Oil plc, Mr McKeon was instrumental in building the international oil and gas exploration and production company with assets spanning Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Oman and Namibia. Today Circle Oil plc is a prominent gas producer in Morocco and counts Libya Oil Holdings among its substantial shareholders.

Mr McKeon is also a founding shareholder of IM Minerals, an exploration company with licences over titanium dioxide prospects in Mozambique.

The directors of Niche welcome John McKeon and are excited by the deal experience that he brings to the table. Mr McKeon (through Old Church Street Holdings Limited) and associates have recently acquired a 26.64% interest in the Company.

“The bidder would buy the company via the debt, paying down a large chunk at par and asking lenders to write down the remainder,” commented the second source familiar. Numbers currently being floated would imply a 70%-80% recovery for creditors, both sources said.

Completed via a scheme of arrangement through the UK high court last year, Crest Nicholson’s restructuring slashed the company’s GBP 1.094bn debt to GBP 620m of new debt maturing 2012. The restructured debt was divided into a GBP 40m super senior RCF paying Libor+ 100bps cash/500bps PIK, a GBP 250m term loan paying L+ 50bps, an GBP 80m guarantee facility paying L+ 50bps and a GBP 250m subordinated PIK paying L+ 250bps, as reported.

Horizon confirms that, in line with the strategy set out in its prospectus published on 4 February, 2010, Horizon is in preliminary discussions with several different companies, including Crest Nicholson, with a view to potentially executing a transaction with one of them. At this point, no view can be expressed as to whether a transaction will result from any of these discussions.

Horizon notes that, in line with its prospectus, Horizon will not acquire more than one company.

Further announcements will be made as appropriate.

We are downgrading BSkyB to Hold. We expect uninspiring FY ’10 Q3
results on Thursday with net adds below on last year’s 80k at 57k, and
EBITA growth of only 5%. At 18x calenderised ’10 EPS the stock is up
with events and fully valued.

In the email exchanges between Tourre and his girlfriend, Marine Serres, Tourre comes off as a young, hotshot trader who foresaw the subprime meltdown while still selling shoddy subprime-backed products so prolifically he could peddle them to “widows and orphans.”