Euromoney predicts record profit September 24, 2010 Financial information group Euromoney said it expected to make record pretax profit this financial year after advertising and delegate numbers to its events recovered, lifting its shares on Friday. The first of the professional publishing and events groups to report this quarter, Euromoney said growth in subscription revenues had also picked up and it expected [...]
BHP clears first hurdle in Potash takeover bid September 24, 2010 BHP Billiton cleared the first regulatory hurdle in its bid for Canada’s Potash but the miner still has a long way to go to pass the deal with Canadian authorities and the target’s shareholders. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, said it received antitrust clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission to proceed with its [...]
Banks break-up still on agenda says ICB September 24, 2010 Britain’s banks will be subject to a wide-ranging probe that will examine the possible break-up of retail and investment banks and ways to boost competition, although no single option is favoured at present. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) was appointed three months ago by the government to assess the structure of the industry in [...]
Petrobras raises $70bn in record share offering September 24, 2010 Brazilian state oil company Petrobras raised $70bn (£44bn) on Thursday in the world’s biggest share offering, giving the company the financial muscle it needs to tap vast offshore oil reserves. The cash will help fund the world’s largest oil exploration plan, which at $224bn for the 2010-2014 period aims to turn Brazil into a major [...]
Coup at HSBC September 23, 2010 HSBC CHIEF executive Michael Geoghegan is set to step down from his role before the end of the year to make way for investment banker Stuart Gulliver, after a boardroom coup that will rock the banking sector. Geoghegan’s ego will be dealt a further blow with the appointment of HSBC’s finance director Douglas Flint as [...]
Profits hit record high at Arsenal September 23, 2010 ARSENAL will today announce record pre-tax profits of around £55m, an increase of £10m, as the football club continues to reap the rewards of moving to the Emirates Stadium. City A.M. understands that the strong performance of Arsenal Holdings’ property development arm has driven an increase in revenue. The north Londoners’ continued success off the [...]
GSK hit by EU Avandia ban September 23, 2010 DRUGS giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been dealt a heavy blow by European regulators, who are forcing it to remove diabetes drug Avandia from the market on concerns it is linked to increased heart attacks and strokes. Yesterday’s decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to suspend all marketing of Avandia came after a lengthy review [...]
HSBC’s spectacular boardroom row September 23, 2010 BIG companies need to get their PR in order. BP’s reaction to its oil spill was all over the place at first, with its CEO Tony Hayward repeatedly putting his foot in it; the Prudential failed to communicate adequately to the media and shareholders during its hopelessly mismanaged bid for AIA. Now, disappointingly, it is [...]
Unions reject Tube talks September 23, 2010 TUBE unions embroiled in a bitter dispute with London Underground (LU) have refused a call by the public transport body to resume talks aimed at averting another strike. Transport unions the RMT and Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which together represent over 10,000 Tube workers, said proposals made by LU “do not go far enough [...]
Dubai to launch $1bn bond sale September 23, 2010 The Kingdom of Dubai will seek to raise about $1bn (£638m) from a bond sale next week, tapping the market for the first time since Dubai World’s $24.9bn debt restructuring. HSBC Holdings, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered have been hired to manage the sale of the five to seven-year bonds, which is likely to be [...]