Campbell’s eyes United Biscuits deal August 22, 2010 CAMPBELL’S, the American maker of tinned soup and pasta sauces, has emerged as a potential bidder for part of United Biscuits (UB), the manufacturer of Jaffa Cakes. Campbell’s has hired Centerview Partners to look at UB’s biscuits division, which includes the McVitie’s and Jacob’s brands and could be worth up to £1.5bn. The US food [...]
F&C to see fund levels fall August 22, 2010 TROUBLED F&C Asset Management will report a fall in client fund levels this week despite the acquisition of Thames River Capital, Numis Securities has predicted. F&C is forecast to say assets under management stood at £99.9bn at the end of June, down 1.6 per cent from April’s number but up 13 per cent year-on-year. The [...]
A third of Britons raid savings August 22, 2010 Nearly a third of UK adults have dipped into their savings in the last year to cover shortfalls in their income, according to a survey by investment firm Schroders. Savers have taken out an average of £4,600 each, totalling £60bn, as the record low in interest rates means fewer returns on prudence. People nearing retirement [...]
Dana to rebuff KNOC August 22, 2010 DANA Petroleum will this week try to shore up its position in the face of a £1.87bn hostile takeover bid by the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC), as it announces interim results and reveals more about its Canadian acquisition plans. Dana’s results on Friday are expected to give details of the £200m planned purchase of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 22, 2010 Mayer Brown The law firm has appointed Dominic Griffiths as the new head of its banking and finance group in London. Griffiths joined the firm five years ago and has been instrumental in building its securitisation and leveraged finance groups in London. He takes over from Bruce Bloomingdale, who will now focus on increasing synergies [...]
Tough markets put the strain on Diageo August 22, 2010 ALCOHOLIC drinks giant Diageo will this week brace itself for an investor backlash over fears for its short term growth outlook. Diageo, the maker of Guinness and Smirnoff vodka, is widely expected to announced figures in line with its expectations, with pre-tax profit climbing from £2.02bn last year to around £2.3bn. But the group’s share [...]
China Construction Bank boosts profit but growth slows August 22, 2010 PROFITS at China Construction Bank (CCB) rose by a fifth in the second quarter as the world’s second-biggest lender by market value seeks to raise 75bn yuan (£7.1bn) to fuel growth. Profit growth at CCB, China’s biggest lender to home buyers and construction projects, beat market expectations, but slowed from a rise of more than a [...]
Cairn focuses on Greenland after Indian sell-off August 22, 2010 INVESTORS will seek signs that Cairn Energy can repeat its Indian success in Greenland when the oil explorer unveils half-year results tomorrow. Cairn, which is selling most of its stake in Indian business Cairn India to miner Vedanta Resources for up to $9.6bn (£6.16bn), is tipped to update the market on drilling two offshore wells in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 22, 2010 BALFOUR BEATTY UBS said it saw solid first-half performance in the construction firm, with pre-tax profit 13 per cent ahead of expectations. But the broker warned investors of cyclical issues, in particular its exposure to public sector projects in the UK leading up to the government spending review in October. UBS maintains its “buy” recommendation. [...]
Ed Miliband in living wage pledge August 22, 2010 Ed Miliband, the Labour leadership contender, has said he would make the government’s corporation tax cut conditional on firms paying a “living wage” of at least £7.60 an hour. “The government is already cutting corporation tax from 28 per cent to 24 per cent, let’s make that conditional on companies paying a mimum wage,” the former [...]