The most obvious example of bad news not picked up was the deterioration in the East Asian economies, a process which clearly has some way to run. But there was also a failure to see good news, particularly with regard to the UK. BZW, NatWest Markets, Nomura International and Lehman Brothers are among the investment banks who say they are increasingly frustrated at the lack of information on the cost of compliance for 2000. The banks are set to confront IT vendors at the end of January to demand an assessment of the extra cost required by the IT providers to update their systems. Executives at JP Morgan, ABN Amro and Chase Manhattan have also become concerned about a lack of guidance from regulators on the issue. Its new channel will show matches and club games, although it cannot show Premier League matches.. Fourteen of the world's largest investment banks have formed an ad-hoc pressure group on the ``millennium bug'' amid mounting frustration at the likely cost of the problem.
It will be funded by a combination of a bond issue based on ticket receipts, extra sponsorship and existing cash resources and the club said it would not raise ticket prices to finance the stadium overhaul.The scheme has been submitted to Newcastle City Council for planning permission. If the Council give the go-ahead, construction work will start next May.Newcastle is expected to announce a television deal with BSkyB and Granada early in the new year. Since it floated on the stock market its shares have tumbled from 135p to 96p.The extra seats and new corporate facilities will boost Newcastle's annual revenues by pounds 15m a year. A new tier will be built around St James' Park, extending the existing Milburn Stand, North West Corner and Sir John Hall Stand and increasing the capacity of the ground from 36,800 to 51,000.
The new stadium will be open for the start of the 2000/2001 season, but half the extra seating will be available a year earlier and capacity will not be cut during the building work. Newcastle had originally planned to build a new stadium at Castle Leazes Park as part of a pounds 90m project but scrapped the idea due to an impending Public Enquiry which could have delayed the project for years.Freddie Fletcher, chief executive of Newcastle United, said: "This is another step forward for Newcastle's goal to become one of Europe's top clubs and this will be one of the best stadiums in Europe."One football analyst said: "This is a better solution than the original project and it will calm some investors' nerves." Concerns over the new stadium project have contributed to Newcastle's poor share price performance. Andrew Yates finds that Newcastle is also poised to sign a deal with BSkyB and Granada to set up its own television channel, following in the footsteps of its arch rival, Manchester United. Although CSFB is now in "advanced negotiations" over the purchase of BZW's Asian equities operations, closures were "not out of the question", according to one source. Last month Barclays shut down its Japanese equities business after failing to find a suitable bidder.. Newcastle United yesterday unveiled plans for the pounds 42m redevelopment of St James' Park, which will make it one of the biggest stadiums in Europe. "The business is moving at a very fast pace", admitted Mr Taylor at the time.Although the proposed sale of of BZW initially attracted a number of interested parties, the potential bidders slowly but surely dropped out of the race.CSFB eventually secured the acquisition of Barclays' European equities operations for a knockdown price - pounds 50m less than book value - but at the time turned its nose up at Barclays' overseas subsidiaries.BZW's Australasian operations, yesterday sold to ABN for pounds 14m more than net asset value, were regarded by the City as the most commercially sound of the overseas subsidiaries.
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