Ocado hits back at critics July 11, 2010 OCADO’S advisers reacted furiously last night to suggestions its £1bn flotation may be in trouble. The firm spoke out against a number of high-profile fund managers it claims are attempting to undermine the pricing of its IPO. The float, in which the grocery delivery firm hopes to raise £200m, appears to be on a knife [...]
High electricity prices to hurt growth July 11, 2010 HERE is another reason why the recovery will be muted. Gas and electricity costs will rise substantially in the years ahead and are set to hammer not only consumers but also manufacturers, further eroding their competitiveness and that of Britain as a place to do business. It is not market forces that will push up [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA BANKS FEAR FALLING CONFIDENCE Faltering confidence in the Chinese economy could threaten the plans of the country’s banks to shore up capital reserves, the head of China Construction Bank, has warned. On top of the projected $22bn initial public offering of Agriculture Bank of China, announced last week, CCB and Industrial and [...]
Kleinwort case is settled July 11, 2010 A legal battle between Commerzbank and a former Kleinwort investment banker over the use of the Kleinwort name has been settled. According to a Financial Times report, Commerzbank – which sold Kleinwort Benson in June – issued a High Court lawsuit against former Kleinwort banker Robert Pasley-Tyler, claiming he had infringed the Kleinwort name. Kleinwort [...]
Japan’s ruling party rebuked July 11, 2010 Japan’s ruling party, mauled in yesterday’s upper house election, faces an uphill struggle to win new allies to back its policies to cut back huge public debt and probably bitter infighting over whether the premier should quit. Voters dealt Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Democratic Party of Japan a stinging rebuke in the election, depriving the [...]
Osborne faces pressure over fiscal monitor July 11, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne will come under pressure to increase the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) when its head, Sir Alan Budd, is grilled by an influential body of MPs this week. The Treasury Select Committee is expected to ask Budd, who is due to step down as chairman on 19 August, whether [...]
Clegg drove final nail in Brown coffin July 11, 2010 NICK Clegg, the LibDem leader, finally saw off Gordon Brown’s hopes of clinging to power in the wake of the hung parliament by demanding he resign before any Lib-Lab deal was agreed. This and other revelations in Lord Mandelson’s upcoming memoirs have caused a rupture in the Labour party, with leadership hopeful Andy Burnham accusing [...]
IFS director Robert Chote in the running for OBR chairman role July 11, 2010 DIRECTOR of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Robert Chote is a strong candidate to replace Sir Alan Budd as chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The former journalist began his career as a reporter and columnist at The Independent before moving to the Financial Times to take up the position of economics [...]
Oil flows into Gulf freely as BP shifts cap July 11, 2010 UPDATES to BP’S containment plan caused oil to spill freely into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend as the company was dealt another financial blow by well partner Anadarko. BP, which started to replace the containment cap on the blown out preventer yesterday, said that updates could take up to six days to complete, [...]
Crucial court date for BT over pension deficit July 11, 2010 TELECOMS giant BT will this morning begin a court case that could have a momentous impact on its future. Trustees of the firm’s pension plan are seeking a ruling on how far the government will underwrite the bloated scheme. If the ruling goes in the trustees’ favour BT will have to pay significantly less to [...]