AstraZeneca to scale up South African operations June 27, 2010 THE UK’s second-largest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, has revealed it is scaling up its up its operations in South Africa. Chief executive officer David Brennan told Bloomberg news that sales are growing faster there than in more established markets. At the Fortune Global Forum in Cape Town, he said AstraZeneca had increased investment in marketing, selling and [...]
Government to close up to 75pc of its websites and slash budgets for rest June 27, 2010 THREE quarters of government websites will face the chop in a plan to slash the cost to the taxpayer. The remainder of the existing 820 government-funded sites will also see their budgets chopped by up to 50 per cent under tough new rules outlined by Tory Francis Maude. The government will explore which of the [...]
Private evictions rose 23 per cent during recession June 27, 2010 PRIVATE landlords filed 23 per cent more repossession claims against tenants during the credit crunch, say figures out today. Legal claims to evict tenants increased from around 17,000 in 2004 to over 21,000 in 2008, according to legal publisher Sweet & Maxwell. However, social landlords were less likely to repossess properties, with the number of [...]
iPad revolution hits boardroom June 27, 2010 City-based insurance firm Torus says it has become the first company in the UK to hold paperless board meetings following a trial of Apple’s iPad. Directors of this $1bn (£663m) insurance company used iPads to review documents during the board sessions instead of the usual print-outs. Bosses say prior to using iPads, the firm was [...]
Reliance sells mobile mast arm June 27, 2010 Reliance Communications has sold its mobile mast arm in one of the biggest mergers seen in India. The deal marks the Indian billionaire Anil Ambani’s emergence from a family feud with his elder brother Mukesh. Anil Ambani’s mast business, Reliance Infratel, will be merged into GTL Infrastructure, India’s largest independent mobile tower operator. Mukesh Ambani’s [...]
NAT ROTHSCHILD MINING FOR MONEY June 27, 2010 NEW mining investment firm Vallar has unveiled plans to list on the London Stock Exchange and raise £600m to take advantage of acquisition opportunities in the sector. The firm, led by finance and mining veterans Nathaniel Rothschild (pictured) and James Campbell, plans to start with one major acquisition and eventually build up a mid-tier mining [...]
Prime house prices upbeat after election June 27, 2010 THE election has helped stir the prime property market and sparked a rise in demand and prices, according to research out today. Prices in the top 10 per cent of the housing market rose 1.1 per cent in June, contributing to an annual growth of 4.1 per cent – more than double the average house [...]
Beltane to buy its first property June 27, 2010 BELTANE Asset Management has bought Pellipar House in Cloak Lane for an undisclosed sum. The investment and asset management company acquired the property near Cannon Street in an off-market transaction from ING. It is the first purchase for the firm, which was set up by Johathan Chenery and Duncan Roe earlier this year. The building [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 27, 2010 Simmons & Simmons The law firm has hired Jonathan Marsh as a partner in its non-contentious financial services regulatory practice. Marsh joins the firm from Berwin Leighton Paisner, where he was a partner specialising in financial services from 2006. He has also worked at Hunton & Williams, Hammonds, Sempra Metals and Linklaters in the last [...]
France tightens screws on tax breaks once more June 27, 2010 A CRACKDOWN on tax breaks will have to be intensified to enable the French government to meet its 2011 deficit target, budget minister Francois Baroin said yesterday, underscoring the struggle it faces in shoring up its finances. Speaking on radio, Baroin said his ministry might need to bring in €10bn (£8.2bn) next year by cutting [...]