Coke eyes bolt-on deals June 14, 2010 Coca-Cola plans to continue to make small, bolt-on acquisitions, even as it integrates the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises, its chief financial officer said. Speaking at a Beverage Digest conference yesterday, chief financial officer Gary Fayard said the large acquisition of its main North American bottling business is still on track to close in [...]
Majestic sees profits jump June 14, 2010 WINE retailer Majestic was toasting a rise in full-year profits yesterday, after small-budget customers with a penchant for guzzling sparkling wine helped boost its profits. The wine retailer made a pre-tax profit of £16m in the 12 months to 29 March, up from £7.4m a year earlier. And The company has seen its customer base [...]
Commuters hit by DLR strike June 14, 2010 COMMUTERS heading into work later this month will be faced with further disruptions after rail union RMT announced Docklands Light Railway (DLR) workers will walk off the job for three days in June. The dispute, which will see DLR workers strike from 23 to 26 June, is over pay and conditions. RMT general secretary Bob [...]
Oil prices jump 2pc after optimism raises demand June 14, 2010 OIL prices rose more than two per cent yesterday, jumping above $75 (£62) per barrel, as optimism about global economic recovery boosted fuel demand expectations and sent stock markets and the euro higher. “Follow-through strength in most global equity markets from last week and highest level in the euro in more than a week are [...]
Claridge’s owner in talks with Deutsche Bank to refinance £610m of borrowings June 14, 2010 THE owner of some of London’s most luxurious hotels is in talks to refinance £610m of debt, it was confirmed yesterday. Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of the Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels in London, is in talks with Deutsche Bank about a refinancing that needs to take place by the end of the year. The [...]
Santander enters £2bn final bid for RBS branches June 14, 2010 SPANISH bank Santander has entered a final offer for the network of 318 UK branches being sold by the Royal Bank of Scotland, sources said. Santander, understood to be the last remaining bidder for the assets being offloaded after RBS was bailed out by the taxpayer, has put between £1.5bn and £2bn on the table. [...]
SHOULD INVESTORS BE TOASTING TODAY’S RESULTS FROM MAJESTIC WINE? June 14, 2010 GREG FEEHELY | ALTIUM SECURITIES “Majestic Wine has a strong balance sheet and has more than adequate flexibility to take advantage of increased opportunities for new sites appearing on the market. While we are not changing our numbers today, forecast risk remains on the upside with potential benefits from the World Cup.” JOHN DICKINSON | [...]
Paulson hires ex-SEC officials June 14, 2010 Hedge fund guru John Paulson has appointed a pair of former top dogs at the Securities and Exchange Commission to the board of Paulson & Co, just a few months after the firm was entangled in the commission’s fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs. Paulson, who is not accused of any wrongdoing in the case, named [...]
EDF’s UK network sale hits snag June 14, 2010 French utility EDF’s long-running sale of its £4bn UK electricity networks hit a snag yesterday when a bidder said it would need to spend “a lot more” than originally planned upgrading the networks. Hongkong Electric and sister company Cheung Kong Infrastructure had been vying for the assets with two consortiums – Scottish & Southern Energy, [...]
HSBC appoints Booker as US chief June 14, 2010 HSBC has promoted its North American deputy chief to chief executive of the region, from the beginning of August. Niall Booker, who also joins the group management board, originally started at HSBC in 1981 and has previously worked for the bank in the Middle East and India.