Property tycoons the Reuben brothers raise stake in Arena July 19, 2010 Billionaire property investors David and Simon Reuben have raised their stake in Arena Leisure to a level just shy of the 30 per cent that would trigger a takeover bid for the British horsetrack operator. The operator of seven UK courses, including Doncaster, Royal Windsor and Wolverhampton, said in a regulatory filing yesterday that the [...]
Gove defends school plans July 19, 2010 MICHAEL Gove, education secretary, yesterday pressed ahead with plans to allow state schools to become academies next autumn, despite claims he was railroading the legislation through parliament. Gove said the plans, which will allow schools to be free from local authority control, would “inject dynamism” into a schools system that has been in “decline” under [...]
CABLE BASHES BANKS July 19, 2010 BANKS are ripping off their customers by not being upfront about the charges they levy on personal overdrafts, business secretary Vince Cable said in a TV documentary aired last night. Cable criticised “hidden” charges levied by lenders in the BBC Panorama programme which allegedly found interest charged on unauthorised overdrafts was as much as 167 [...]
The new Office for Tax Simplification won’t turn the UK into a low-tax state July 19, 2010 ANOTHER week, another independent body that could prove a headache for the chancellor. Hot on the heels of the creation of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which has had a less than illustrious start, George Osborne will today launch an Office for Tax Simplification. It has been charged with lighting a bonfire under Britain’s [...]
Government forced into U-turn over cost of scrapping quangos July 19, 2010 THE GOVERNMENT was forced into a U-turn yesterday, after it said it would save £8.62m by scrapping four quangos, before later admit ting that the real saving to the taxpayer would amount to just £603,000. The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (Sabip), Sitpro (Simplifying International Trade), the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory [...]
Fears of fresh oil leak hit BP July 19, 2010 NEWS THAT oil is seeping from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico sent BP’s shares down yesterday as concerns over the group’s future continued to grow. Engineers on the ground believe the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in 20 April, that killed 11 and led to the worst oil spill in US history, [...]
Halliburton warns offshore ban will hit full-year profits July 19, 2010 Halliburton yesterday reported an 83 per cent jump in second-quarter profit thanks to strong US onshore drilling, but a ban on deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to hurt its full-year results. The world’s second-largest oilfield services company, whose shares gained two per cent yesterday, said second-quarter net income rose to $480m [...]
CITY VIEWS: DOES BP STILL HAVE A FUTURE? July 19, 2010 ALEXANDRE ANDLAUER | ALPHAVALUE “The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico changes BP’s picture for three reasons: Development in deep water could be more difficult, costs are still difficult to estimate but will be significant and BP’s reputation has been hit and will lead to a discount versus peers.” HENRY DIXON | MATTERLEY ASSET [...]
Moody’s cuts Irish debt as crisis deepens July 19, 2010 WEAKENED growth prospects and the Irish government’s significant loss of financial strength drove ratings agency Moody’s to downgrade Ireland to Aa2 from Aa1 yesterday. It said the reason for the downgrade was: “The government’s gradual but significant loss of financial strength, as reflected by the substantial increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio and weakening debt affordability.” [...]
American firms to expand recruitment July 19, 2010 PLANS by American firms to add to their payrolls over the next six months have risen to the highest level since January 2008 but service sector firms are still predicting further layoffs. The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) yesterday said that 39 per cent of firms reported increased hiring intentions compared to 18 per [...]