New Look profit rises – but silence on IPO June 2, 2010 BUDGET fashion retailer New Look posted a 17.7 per cent rise in annual profit but has remained silent about its ambitions for a stock market return after postponing its flotation in February. The chain, which blamed volatile financial markets for derailing an expected £1.7-£2bn listing, said higher taxes and unemployment, and a weaker pound, would [...]
Prudential ditches AIA deal June 2, 2010 INSURER Prudential has ditched plans to buy AIA after a last ditch bid to renegotiate the price failed. The deal – for AIG’s Asian arm – had been beset by problems after a shareholder rebellion. In March, Prudential agreed to buy AIA for $35.5bn (£24.6bn), but last week asked for the price to be cut [...]
CRUNCH TIME June 1, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S future was hanging in the balance last night after its dream of taking over AIA died, drawing a line under what one shareholder called “an unprecedented shambles”. The insurer is expected to tell the London stockmarket this morning it will abandon its calamitous $35.5bn (£25bn) pursuit of AIG’s Asian operation. Following a series of [...]
FBI set to probe BP’s oil disaster June 1, 2010 PRESSURE on BP mounted last night as the US attorney general said he would launch a criminal and a civil investigation into its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Eric Holder said the federal agencies, including the FBI, would participate in the probe and warned: “If we find evidence of illegal behaviour, we will be [...]
Caja Madrid seeks €3bn June 1, 2010 SPAIN’S banking woes continued yesterday after its second-largest savings bank Caja Madrid is understood to have sought up to €3bn (£2.5bn) from a government rescue fund. Caja Madrid entered preliminary merger talks with five regional savings banks last week. But the Spanish lender released a statement saying the reports it will seek government funds are [...]
Why Pru’s chair and CEO must resign June 1, 2010 WHAT a mess. Prudential’s entire strategy lies in tatters, its supposedly transformative $35.5bn bid for AIG’s Asian operations all but over. The firm’s last-ditch attempts at cajoling the US government, AIG’s majority shareholder, into cutting AIA’s price never got off the ground. The deal’s demise is a victory for shareholders and London’s long-suffering institutional investors, [...]
Cable begins M&A review June 1, 2010 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable yesterday launched a formal investigation into M&A rules. The move comes after intense criticism of Kraft’s conduct in the lead-up to its takeover of Cadbury. It follows calls from Cable’s predecessor Peter Mandelson. The panel will examine whether the threshold of shareholders voting in favour of a bid needs to be [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES OPTIONS TRADING REACHES RECORD VOLUMES Options trading volumes in the US soared to a record last month as market volatility and the “flash crash” added to secular growth in the industry. Nearly 406m listed options contracts were traded in May, according to figures released by the Options Clearing Corporation, up 29 per cent [...]
Darling backs David Miliband June 1, 2010 Former chancellor Alistair Darling has backed David Miliband in the Labour leadership race. He released a statement last night saying: “We are fortunate to have a field of very strong candidates, each with different qualities. However, I believe strongly that David Miliband is the right person to lead our party, first in Opposition and then [...]
BA and Unite to resume talks June 1, 2010 British Airways (BA) and Unite have resumed negotiations in a bid to settle the bitter dispute that has resulted in cabin crew taking to the picket lines. The news comes as the airline announced it will increase its capacity during the final five-day strike period, which starts 5 June. BA said it will fly up [...]