Permira eyes Findus Italy April 5, 2010 PRIVATE equity house Permira is poised to make a takeover bid for Unilever’s Italian frozen food business Findus Italy. Unilever is expected to formally announce the sale of Findus towards mid-April, with Permira looking at making a bid for the Italian business, which is currently priced between €500m-€800m (£444m-£710m). Permira, which bought frozen food brands [...]
THE BUZZ ON PRIVACY April 5, 2010 Google Buzz has asked all of its users to confirm or change their privacy settings, following concerns about privacy issues. Last month, US Congress members urged regulators to investigate the service provided by the search engine and the private information it exposed. Google, whose co-founder is Sergey Brin (pictured), launched Buzz at the beginning of [...]
Heritage seeks answers over Tullow delay April 5, 2010 Explorer Heritage Oil has expressed concern at Uganda’s slow pace in approving the sale of its assets to London-based explorer Tullow Oil. The east African country discovered oil in 2006 in the Lake Albert region along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, and production is expected to begin later this year. Exploration [...]
Public sector pensions need overhaul: CBI April 5, 2010 PUBLIC sector pensions need a complete overhaul to create a more affordable retirement system for government workers and to contain a trillion pound burden on the taxpayer, the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) argues in a new report published today. Research from the business lobby showed that because these pensions include an unpredictable guarantee from [...]
WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR PENSION REFORM? April 5, 2010 CORIN TAYLOR | INSTITUTE FOR DIRECTORS Public sector pensions are unsustainable – they are costing too much and there is an unfair divide between the private and public sectors now the latter’s pay is at, or above, private sector levels. You must protect existing accrual but a scheme has to reflect the reality of an [...]
Global banking levy could come in by November April 5, 2010 BRITAIN could sign up to an international banking levy as soon as the November meeting of G20 leaders at Seoul, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday. The UK, France and Germany are understood to be agreed on the argument for a “global responsibility” tax that would cost the likes of Goldman Sachs, Barclays and JPMorgan [...]
Malpractice rules tougher on employers April 5, 2010 CHANGES to whistleblowing procedures implemented today will place an increased burden on employers, who are now set to face joint scrutiny by employment tribunals and regulation bodies. Today’s changes will allow whistleblowers who make malpractice complaints against their employer to now involve the relevant regulator, including the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Information Commissioner, Health [...]
EU membership is still a necessity for the UK April 5, 2010 AS inhabitants of an island state with a strong sense of identity, some people in the UK are wary of the European Union. Vetoed by De Gaulle throughout the 1960s and separated by 26 miles of English Channel, they see themselves as outsiders peering in. So, when President Sarkozy said that the appointment of a [...]
CODEMASTERS?CRACKS?SALES?CODE April 5, 2010 Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA has taken a stake in Codemasters, the British computer games company behind Lord of the Rings Online and Formula One. Codemasters said Reliance Big Entertainment, and the software company’s existing investor, Balderton Capital, would each hold 50 per cent. Reliance Big’s gaming division, Zapak, headed by Rohit Sharma (pictured), will oversee [...]
Lib Dems unveil plans to pump £3bn of new investment into Britain’s railways April 5, 2010 THE Liberal Democrats yesterday set out audacious plans to overhaul the UK’s rail network, unveiling plans for the biggest expansion of the railways since the Victorian era. The party said it would fund the revamp via swingeing cuts to spending on major roads, ploughing almost £3bn into a new Rail Expansion Fund from which councils [...]