BHP Billiton launches hostile bid for Potash August 18, 2010 BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, has launched a hostile $39bn (£24.9bn) bid for Potash Corp after the Canadian fertiliser group’s board rejected the world’s largest takeover offer this year. BHP Billiton said it was submitting it directly to shareholders and bypassing Potash Corp’s board, which a day earlier called the bid of $130 a [...]
Maersk swings back to profit and raises forecast August 18, 2010 Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, has returned to profit in the first half of the year. The group reported a net profit of 14.15bn Danish kronor (£1.57bn), while revenues grew by 20 per cent. In the same period a year ago it had reported a loss of 3.02bn kronor. Meanwhile, DP World, the [...]
Henderson hit by “fragile” investors August 18, 2010 Anglo-Australian fund manager Henderson Group posted lower-than-expected profits in the first half as outflows accelerated in the second quarter on volatile markets and “fragile” investor confidence. Henderson said pre-tax profit was £41.6m in the first six months. That compared to its own estimate of between £47m and £49m. Last month the fund manager announced it [...]
Stagecoach sees sales rise August 18, 2010 Stagecoach said underlying sales rose across its UK and US bus and rail operations over the last three months and that it expects to meet its profit expectations for the year. Like-for-like revenues at its British rail business, which includes London commuter franchise South West Trains, grew seven per cent in the 12 weeks to [...]
Poison pill hits BHP’S $39bn bid August 17, 2010 CANADIAN fertiliser firm PotashCorp yesterday snubbed a mammoth $39bn (£25bn) indicative offer from mining giant BHP Billiton, moving swiftly to shield itself by invoking a “poison pill” defence outlawed in the UK. PotashCorp, which described the $130-a-share cash offer from BHP as “grossly inadequate”, launched a shareholder rights plan defence, giving it the ability to [...]
Ex-Lehman boss could be charged August 17, 2010 FORMER Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld could face civil charges as early as this week in connection with the firm’s collapse. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is understood to be organising a series of meetings with big players involved with the bank before its demise almost two years ago, according to reports in [...]
Eurozone debt sales succeed August 17, 2010 INVESTORS snapped up €1.5bn (£1.2bn) of Irish debt at auction yesterday, though the Dublin government was forced to offer high yields to tempt buyers. The auction attracted bids of €5.1bn yesterday, the strongest demand in an auction so far this year, in part due to yields far above the German gilt benchmark. Ireland will pay [...]
BHP’s bid provokes poisonous reply August 17, 2010 JUST as the markets were drifting into the final few days of summer – traditionally one of the quietest times of the year for corporate news – up pops mining giant BHP Billiton with a near $40bn proposal to takeover the Canadian fertiliser and animal feed group Potash. Although all sorts of things are possible [...]
Soros shuns US equities August 17, 2010 LEGENDARY investor George Soros has slashed his investments in US stocks including AOL, Pfizer and Google, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. Soros moved swathes of his fortune into gold companies over the last three months, as the man who bet against the Bank of England sold off more than 95 per cent of his [...]
US to keep mortgage guarantee August 17, 2010 The US Treasury Secretary said yesterday the government will continue to guarantee residential mortgages, despite the demise of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Tim Geithner admitted at a White House summit on the future of the collapsed mortgage giants that the state still has a role to play in backing loans, in order to minimise [...]