Carillion and the Balfour Beatty bid – the story in numbers August 20, 2014 This morning Balfour Beatty rejected Carillion's bid for a third time. We break down the story in numbers £3bn – the total value of a combined business should the merger go ahead. 5pm – the “put up or shut up” deadline tomorrow (21 August) for Carillion's final offering. 3 – the number [...]
Glencore reveals $1bn share buyback as earnings increase 8pc August 20, 2014 Glencore has revealed an eight per cent increase in adjusted earnings alongside plans to pay out up to $1bn of cash to shareholders through a share buyback programme. The news means Glencore will return capital to investors before mining competitors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, with the company saying the buyback will run to March [...]
“I bleed Microsoft”: Steve Ballmer’s Microsoft resignation letter August 20, 2014 Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has resigned from its board to focus on his new hobby, running US basketball team the LA Clippers. After 14 years on Microsoft's board, it is unlikely the decision came lightly. Here is his resignation letter to new chief executive Satya Nadella, explaining he had "not spent any time [...]
Hikma Pharmaceutical revenue up 16pc August 20, 2014 Hikma pharmaceutical has reported a positive start to the year, with revenue rising 16 per cent during the six months to 30 June. Shareholder profit went up by 44 per cent to $176m, compared to $122m the year before, and net cash flow from operating activities increased by $64m to $200m. The multinational [...]
Third time not lucky: Balfour Beatty shares open 5.7% lower as it rejects another Carillion merger offer August 20, 2014 Balfour Beatty has rejected a third merger offer from Carillion, as they remain unwilling to end the planned sale of US design consultancy Parsons Brinkerhoff. Construction services group Carillion yesterday offered a sweetened merger proposal to Balfour in the hope of finally coming to an agreement that has failed to materialise since Carillion first approached [...]
Balfour Beatty share price jumps as Carillion raises merger bid August 19, 2014 Carillion, the construction services group, yesterday sweetened its takeover offer for Balfour Beatty in the hope it would break through the wall of resistance from its rival and convince an intransigent chairman and his team of advisers to return to the negotiating table. The raised bid, which values Balfour Beatty at £2.1bn, comes as the [...]
Inflation drop takes the pressure off Bank on rate hike August 19, 2014 INFLATION fell back again in July, according to official figures released yesterday, easing the pressure on the Bank of England’s policymakers to tighten their stance and weakening sterling The consumer price index (CPI) rose by just 1.6 per cent in the year to July, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure dropped from [...]
Flappy Bird founder Nguyen Dong takes off with Swing Copters sequel August 19, 2014 The creator of Flappy Bird, the smartphone phenomenon that generated over $50,000 a day in early 2014 before it was pulled from Apple’s App Store after just nine months, is set to return tomorrow with his next game. Vietnamese developer Nguyen Dong, who shut down Flappy Bird after notching up 50m players and finding the [...]
Cash strapped commuters brace for ticket price hike August 19, 2014 RAIL fares set by the government could rise by 3.5 per cent next year, pushing commuting costs up at much more than average earnings. Figures released yesterday showed that the retail prices index (RPI), a measure of inflation, rose by 2.5 per cent in the year to July. The government typically uses the measure plus [...]
Core strength! Apple shares hit record high August 19, 2014 TECHNOLOGY giant Apple saw its share price rise to a record high yesterday, topping the previous price of $100.30 per share at $100.53 on market close. The two-year high comes as the company prepares to launch more gadgets in the coming months, including a new iPhone and a wearable device, dubbed the iWatch. A payments [...]