Unrest builds at Delta as funds slam US takeover March 23, 2010 DELTA, the engineered steel firm, faces a growing revolt from its shareholders after long-only fund managers added to criticism of a takeover attempt by Valmont of the US. Several well-known institutions have told Delta chairman Steven Marshall they want to force up Valmont’s offer of 185p per share, which values the British company at close [...]
British Gas workers vote to strike March 23, 2010 BRITISH Gas workers have voted to strike over what they have branded macho management and bullying. The strikes would affect gas service engineers, central heating boiling engineers and distribution depot workers, the union added. No strike dates have been set among the 8,000 GMB members and the company, part of Centrica, has been given a [...]
Six arrested in FSA insider dealing probe March 23, 2010 SIX men – including three senior City professionals – have been arrested in the Financial Services Authority’s biggest ever operation against insider dealing. The FSA says the men are believed to have passed information to traders – either directly or via middlemen – in a sophisticated and long-running insider dealing ring. The traders then used [...]
UK inflation rate drops March 23, 2010 THE headline rate of inflation last month slowed for the first time since September, raising hopes that the figure has reached its peak. Utility price cuts and a slower rise in food prices helped to send the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) back down to three per cent in February. In January it soared to a [...]
RAB Capital narrows losses March 23, 2010 HEDGE fund firm RAB Capital has narrowed its full year net losses as new investors helped the business recover from the recession. The energy and commodities funds specialist posted an after-tax loss of £3.1m for last year compared with a loss of £17.1m in 2008. Assets under management improved to $1.35bn (£899m) at the end [...]
Legal & General raises dividend with profits boost March 23, 2010 INSURER Legal & General reported forecast-beating profit and has increased its dividend. L&G, the country’s sixth-biggest insurer by market value, said it had a 2009 operating profit of £1.3bn, ahead of the £1.1bn predicted by analysts. The figures were helped by a £69m cost-cutting programme, with a cull of 17 per cent of the workforce. [...]
Halfords eyes acquisitions after sales rise March 23, 2010 HALFORDS expects to beat full-year profit forecasts after a surge in by demand for car parts during recent bad weather and its acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres. The company said its pre-tax profit for the year ending in March would be around £116m – above analysts forecasts of £112.7m. Sales at shops in the UK and [...]
Google shuts its Chinese website in censorship dispute March 22, 2010 GOOGLE has sensationally closed its Chinese search engine in a row over censorship. The move could have global ramifications, exacerbating already strained relations between China and the US. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton waded into the debate earlier this year after a series of cyber-attacks on Google said to originate from government buildings. In turn, [...]
Darling set for offshore crackdown March 22, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling will use tomorrow’s Budget to step up the government’s crackdown on offshore tax evasion by doubling the maximum penalty. Treasury sources said that the chancellor thinks he can protect £1bn of revenue by increasing the penalty to 200 per cent of tax owed. The measures are tougher than the ones announced in the [...]
IoD demands spending cuts March 22, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling should learn a lesson from Labour’s first Budget in 1997 and announce “spending reductions which are faster and deeper than expected by financial markets”, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD). The group, which represents UK directors from a range of businesses, also want Darling to provide a credible long-term plan to reduce [...]