What the other papers say this morning – 23 May 2014 May 22, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Corrupt companies face higher fines British companies that bribe foreign officials to win contracts, commit fraud, or launder money, face fines of up to 400 per cent of their illicit profits, under new penalty guidelines. In the most serious cases companies will pay fines comparable with those meted out in the US, where [...]
BlackRock calls for Pfizer talks May 22, 2014 ASTRAZENECA’S biggest shareholder BlackRock is urging management to re-engage with Pfizer over a potential takeover once a three-month hiatus on the two sides discussing a deal is lifted. The fund manager is understood to have asked the UK drug giant to engage with its US rival. While backing the decision to refuse a £55-per-share offer [...]
Deutsche fends off investor ire May 22, 2014 DEUTSCHE Bank yesterday faced down angry investors who attacked the firm at its annual meeting over regulatory investigations and its ongoing struggle to restore its capital position. Bosses Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen were heckled as they argued the bank had made great strides cutting costs and improving its balance sheet. Depite the unrest, 91 [...]
Facebook clicks like on drastic privacy controls May 22, 2014 Facebook has made drastic changes to its privacy controls that will give its 1.3bn users more control over their information and default new users posts to be more private. The change comes as privacy concerns are rising among internet users and private sharing services such as Snapchat and WhatsApp are becoming increasingly popular with younger [...]
Boris Johnson makes his final case for a new Estuary airport May 22, 2014 MAYOR of London Boris Johnson has made his final case for a new four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary, arguing that such a scheme could be built by 2029 and support 400,000 jobs across the country. In his latest submission to the government’s airports commission, Johnson insisted the airport “faces no insuperable obstacles to its [...]
High Voltage: Lightning hits the shard as massive thunderstorm sweeps across London May 22, 2014 THE SHARD – the tallest building in Europe – was struck by lightning yesterday afternoon during a massive thunderstorm in the capital. The downpour brought hailstones bouncing off City streets and a single fork of electricity hit the top of the 306m building. Luckily the skyscraper wasn’t damaged, as according to a recent YouGov poll, 57 [...]
Zoopla’s shares are moving to a new £1bn home May 22, 2014 ZOOPLA fired the starting gun yesterday on a float that could value Britain’s second largest property website at around £1bn. The stock market debut will trigger a windfall for Zoopla’s shareholders, including majority owner the Daily Mail & General Trust, Countrywide and its founder and chief executive Alex Chesterman, who will sell down their stakes [...]
Budget airline Wizz aims for London lift off May 22, 2014 HUNGARIAN budget airline Wizz Air is preparing to list on the London Stock Exchange as it looks to raise €200m (£162m) and grow its business in central and eastern Europe. The no-frills airline, which provides travel to destinations across Europe, expects to launch its initial public offering next month and will be in direct competition [...]
B&M Retail lines up £2.5bn stock market debut May 22, 2014 B&M RETAIL, the discount shopping chain, yesterday batted away fears of a slowdown in London’s new issues market as it unveiled plans for a £2.5bn main market float. The chain, founded in 1978 by a shopkeeper in Blackpool, said its £1.2bn turnover, ambitious expansion plans and overseas subsidiaries set the company apart from others trying [...]
Bottom Line: New players have a better chance than most May 22, 2014 IT’S A tough one to call. At the same moment that Fat Face officially pulled its market listing, four other companies filed upbeat intentions to float – each convinced that they had the perfect formula that would have investors running for the shares. Despite the fickle market, some of them might actually be right. Zoopla has [...]