Potash rejects $39bn BHP Billiton bid August 17, 2010 THE world’s largest fertiliser producer Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has rejected a $39bn (£24.9bn) takeover approach from mining giant BHP Billiton. Canada-based PotashCorp said BHP offered US$130 a share in cash – equivalent to a 20 per cent premium on the company’s share price on 11 August. However, Canadian Potash dismissed the proposal as “grossly [...]
Asda sales dip as shoppers hit in the pocket August 17, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Asda said yesterday shoppers were being hit in the pocket by government cuts as like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 0.4 per cent in the second quarter. The chain said its market share had reduced in the 12 weeks to 11 July as total sales crept up “in the low single digits”. Chief executive [...]
High Speed 1 bid group expands August 17, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs and Groupe Eurotunnel have expanded their bidding group for Britain’s only high-speed rail line, a consortium spokesman said as first-round bids were due for the £1.5bn route. The British government is selling “High Speed 1,” which has a 30-year concession to run a 110-kilometre (70 mile) railway linking London and the Channel Tunnel, [...]
Inflation falls to 3.1pc August 17, 2010 INFLATION has fallen from 3.2 per cent in June to 3.1 per cent last month, official figures have shown. But the CPI rate is still above the government’s target of two per cent and so Bank of England governor Mervyn King will once again be obliged to write a letter of explanation. Meanwhile the figure [...]
Resolution posts profit and eyes new acquisitions August 17, 2010 Insurance buyout vehicle Resolution said on it would hunt out further acquisitions in a consolidating sector, as it posted an interim profit compared to a loss a year earlier. Resolution made an operating profit before tax of £203m for the six months ending June, compared to a loss of £7m a year earlier. Its earnings [...]
Rok pre-tax profit dives by 50pc August 17, 2010 BUILDING repairs and maintenance firm Rok said first-half pre-tax profit was down 50 per cent, after it warned last week earnings would be hit by accounting problems and suspended its chief financial officer. Rok, which on August said on 11 August it found “serious failings” in its plumbing, heating and electrical (PHE) business, said revenues [...]
Gartmore sees client funds plunge August 17, 2010 FUND manager Gartmore has seen its assets under management plunge after the suspension of its star fund manager. The firm, which listed in December and has since seen its share price almost halve, said assets fell nine per cent to £20.3bn at end-July, after £1.9bn of outflows in the first seven months of the year. [...]
Pay deal averts BAA strike pain August 16, 2010 FEARS of travel chaos over the busy Bank Holiday faded last night after airport operator BAA secured a last-ditch pay deal with unions, who agreed to call off planned strikes. In a dramatic climbdown, Unite said it would urge workers at Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports to accept a “much improved” pay [...]
Wall Street fumes over GM fee cut August 16, 2010 WALL STREET has been left fuming after an exceptionally cheap pitch from Goldman Sachs led the US Treasury to slash fees for all banking advisers on its impending $20bn (£13bn) flotation of General Motors. Goldman, which was mired in allegations of securities fraud when it applied for a role in the GM initial public offering [...]
EC rules to hit UK companies August 16, 2010 INSTITUTIONS including Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland will be hit by an overhaul of European rules giving regulators greater powers over combined banking and insurance groups. The European Commission (EC) yesterday put forward plans to tighten oversight of “financial conglomerates”, defined as firms that lend and provide cover across multiple European states. [...]