Ultrapar eyes Shell assets May 31, 2010 BRAZILIAN oil company Ultrapar is set to submit an offer for Royal Dutch Shell’s European liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arm alongside a string of private equity bidders. The Brazilian fuel and natural gas company is expected to submit a bid for the assets today, it is understood. Other possible bidders are thought to include private [...]
German ban shows danger of unilateral action May 31, 2010 FOR many months I, along with everyone else in the financial services industry, have been warning the UK government that we should not lead on regulatory reform without a clear idea of what is to be achieved and what is being planned elsewhere. The dangers of unilateral action were clearly demonstrated when Germany decided to [...]
Mandates fly out for privatisation of Irish state health insurer VHI May 31, 2010 ADVISORY mandates for the €500m (£422m) privatisation of Ireland’s national health insurance provider go out this week, with the sale likely to take place in 2012. The state-owned Voluntary Health Insurance company made a loss of €70m last year, but is predicted to turn a profit of €60m after a “substantial” but as-yet unspecified recapitalisation [...]
JP Morgan Caz is City’s top adviser May 31, 2010 JP MORGAN Cazenove continues to lead the City’s broker adviser tables, according to the latest quarterly rankings from Hemscott. The company has 244 clients, a gain of three since the last quarter and more than double its nearest rival. Second-placed Numis Securities gained five new clients to bring the total to 118, closing the gap [...]
The Labour Party needs to find a new name May 31, 2010 THERE’S a saying that goes something like this: “Anyone who wasn’t left wing in their youth, doesn’t have a heart; but anyone who isn’t a conservative as an adult doesn’t have a brain.” The process of taking on responsibilities forces one to realise that accountability, a small government, freedom, and more decision-making left in the [...]
House prices dampened by the election May 31, 2010 UNCERTAINTY over the outcome of the general election put a dampener on house prices in May. May’s monthly house price growth held steady at April’s three-month low of 0.2 per cent, property data company Hometrack said yesterday. Increases in sales, new buyers and new properties were all the weakest since January, when unusually icy weather [...]
UK faces double-dip, says BCC May 31, 2010 BRITAIN faces the risk of a double-dip recession and the government should hold off making big spending cuts until the recovery is assured, according to the British Chambers of Commerce. In its latest economic forecast published at the weekend, the business lobby group revised up its projection for growth this year to 1.3 per cent [...]
Surge in foreign bids for British firms, finds study May 31, 2010 OVER half of all UK-listed companies subject to takeover bids in the last quarter were targeted by foreign firms, a study has shown. Around 53 per cent of offers came from overseas companies, nearly double the 27 per cent seen in the first quarter of 2008, according to research by City law firm Wedlake Bell. [...]
Pension fund deficits fell last month May 31, 2010 PENSION funds weathered the recent falls in equity markets to significantly reduce their deficits last month, though shortfalls remain at worrying levels. The total deficit for the largest 200 private pension schemes dropped by £13.5bn last month, the biggest improvement since June 2009, according to human capital and risk management firm Aon Consulting. The total [...]
Asia and Latin America boost growth in world trade but Eurozone dragging May 31, 2010 GLOBAL trade volumes in the first three months of this year were 5.3 per cent higher than in the previous quarter, representing slightly slower growth than in recent months but still a healthy rebound from the crisis, according to the Dutch CPB institute. The CPB, whose data are used by the European Commission and World [...]