Lower profits prompt share sell-off at BP February 2, 2010 OIL major BP said yesterday that annual profits nearly halved last year as the global economic slump slashed demand for oil, forcing it to cut thousands of jobs and to warn of a slower turnaround in its business this year. BP’s profit in 2009 fell 45 per cent to $13.9bn (£8.7bn) as weaker demand for [...]
Kraft finally wins Cadbury February 2, 2010 US food group Kraft has finally swallowed up Dairy Milk chocolate maker Cadbury after investors backed the £11.7bn deal. Shareholders holding nearly 72 per cent of Cadbury’s stock have accepted Kraft’s offer for the 186-year-old company, comfortably exceeding the 50 per cent plus one share it needed to take control. Kraft will be able to [...]
Rivals are still worse off February 2, 2010 EXPECTATIONS for BP’s full year results were extraordinarily high, but investors were kidding themselves if they thought the firm could shake off the industry blues entirely. Most were probably carried away by the smashing third quarter results that were 48 per cent ahead of consensus. Still, a weak performance at the group’s refining business dragged [...]
Watchdog says proprietary trading not at root of crisis February 2, 2010 THE regulator of the largest US banks said yesterday that proprietary trading was not at the root of the financial crisis and warned that excessive limits could impair some of banks’ central functions. John Dugan, comptroller of the currency, told reporters: “It’s one thing to talk about pure proprietary trading as a business where the [...]
Five blue chip bosses back Tory pledges February 2, 2010 THE TORIES yesterday wheeled out a series of business leaders who support their plans for the economy. Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis and Kingfisher boss Ian Cheshire were among five FTSE 100 bosses endorsing a new set of Tory policies that included a pledge to safeguard Britain’s AAA credit rating. Autonomy chief executive Mike Lynch, [...]
CITY VIEWS: are you upset by cadbury being taken over by kraft? February 2, 2010 GEORGINA PARKER | NICOLL CURTIN “To be honest, as long as it doesn’t affect the chocolate I don’t really mind. Of course, I’d be very upset if Cadbury’s giant buttons and Cadbury’s caramel weren’t being sold any more, so I hope it doesn’t affect that.” GILLIAN RUBY | TOWERGATE “I think it’s very sad. It’s [...]
Brown: end first past the post system February 2, 2010 GORDON Brown yesterday proposed a raft of constitutional reforms that could see the first-past-the-post voting system scrapped. Next week MPs will vote on whether there should be a referendum on switching to the Alternative Vote (AV) system after the next general election. The AV system asks voters to numerically rank candidates in order of preference [...]
Greek budget plan will get EU thumbs up February 2, 2010 THE European Commission is today set to endorse a Greek plan to cut its budget deficit below the European Union ceiling of three per cent of GDP by the end of 2012, saying it is feasible despite risks. The Commission’s assessment will be closely watched by financial markets as they weigh Greece’s credibility as a [...]
Election2010 February 2, 2010 Blair lied over Iraq, says Short Clare Short yesterday accused Tony Blair of lying over the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and said she believed the attorney general at the time had misled the cabinet over its legality. Short, a long-time Blair critic who was then international development secretary, disputed evidence the former Prime Minster [...]
Construction industry begins to recover as its decline slows February 2, 2010 HOPES of a recovery were boosted further today with a survey showing that the construction industry shrugged off last month’s snowy weather and shrank at its slowest rate in nearly two years. The CIPS/Markit survey came in at 48.6 during January, up from 47.1 in the previous month. New orders decreased for the second consecutive [...]