Ping An gets approval to buy Chinese bank stake May 5, 2010 CHINESE regulators have approved a plan by Shenzhen-based powerhouse Ping An Insurance to buy a stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) from US private equity firm TPG, Ping An said yesterday. TPG is expected to make a profit of more than $2.14bn on the sale – a return of more than seven times its original [...]
GDF Suez set to snap up Utilicom May 5, 2010 GDF SUEZ, the French energy giant, is to acquire Sussex-based Utilicom Group in a deal it hopes will deliver €1.5bn (£1.2bn) in sales over the next four years. The move is expected to create the UK’s largest district energy company and will see the birth of Cofely District Energy, which will form a part of [...]
MF Global to pay City trader £20m in damages after Court of Appeal ruling May 5, 2010 MAN FINANCIAL (MF) Global lost an appeal yesterday that will see it have to pay out almost £20m in damages to a trader who was deceived and defrauded by one of its brokers. A decision handed down by the Court of Appeal said that the broker, Matthew Bomford and the company he worked for, MF [...]
US senate agrees to drop $50bn bailout fund in bill May 5, 2010 THE US Senate made progress on a financial regulation reform bill yesterday, approving two amendments aimed at preventing a repeat of the massive taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street in 2008. The Senate voted 93-5 for a plan that would set up a new government protocol for seizing and dismantling large financial firms that are in [...]
Intel plans to enter mobile phone market May 5, 2010 INTEL will attempt to grab a slice of the increasingly lucrative smartphone market with a new super-chip. It yesterday unveiled a new version of its Atom platform, promising lower power consumption, cheaper cost and smaller size to better target smartphones. The world’s largest semiconductor company hopes to replicate the success it has seen in the [...]
Xstrata warns on economic risks despite production boost May 5, 2010 MINER Xstrata yesterday warned about short-term economic risks as it posted solid first-quarter production, but was confident about growth in metals demand as carmakers and other industries bounce back. “The current macroeconomic environment remains volatile… nonetheless underlying signs of recovery continue to strengthen,” chairman Willy Strothotte told the group’s shareholders at the annual meeting. He [...]
ABB acquires US firm Ventyx May 5, 2010 SWISS engineering group ABB is to buy US software company Ventyx for more than $1bn (£662m), bolstering its position in the fast-growing area of renewable energy network management. The deal, cash-rich ABB’s first billion-dollar buy in more than 10 years, will also strengthen its presence in North America. ABB, which had a cash pile of [...]
Skype to roll out mobile service May 5, 2010 FREE internet calls service Skype has planned an ambitious expansion with a range of new subscription services. It will now allow both pay-as-you-go and subscription packages to encompass calls to mobile operators including O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. It will also increase the number of countries these services are available in from 40 to 170. [...]
Ash grounds Scottish and Irish flights May 5, 2010 ICELAND’S volcano grounded flights out of Ireland and Scotland yesterday, as a fresh ash plume again disrupted the holiday plans of thousands of passengers. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed airspace in Ireland and Scotland, affecting major airports and international flights after the [...]
De Blonay pulls out of Europe May 5, 2010 GUY de Blonay, the star fund manager who officially rejoined Jupiter this week after leaving Henderson last year, is to push an Asia and US-focused investment strategy at the firm, reducing its exposure to the crisis-hit Eurozone. De Blonay is due to become co-manager of the flagship Jupiter Financial Opportunities Fund on 1 June, alongside [...]