Enel to proceed with €4bn IPO July 11, 2010 ITALY’S biggest utility Enel plans to list a stake in its renewables unit despite difficult market conditions and a potential change to Italy’s renewable incentives scheme, Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said. Enel, with debts of €51.9bn at the end of March, aims in October to raise €3-4bn from the sale of a minority stake in [...]
Zodiac rejects bid from Safran July 11, 2010 FRENCH aerospace group Zodiac Aerospace yesterday said it had rejected a preliminary takeover approach from state-controlled Safran and vowed to stay independent and even seek more acquisitions. Zodiac, the maker of aircraft systems and cabin interiors, said its board considered a “friendly” offer of talks from Safran Chief Executive Jean-Paul Herteman on an “industrial combination [...]
Further falls predicted for jobless count July 11, 2010 OFFICIAL data out on Wednesday is expected to show that fewer Britons claimed jobless benefits in June, the fifth successive monthly drop in the claimant count measure. Economists, on average, expect the number of Britons claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) will have fallen by 24,5000 last month. For the wider International Labor Organisation (ILO) measure, [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU FORECAST FOR THIS WEEK’S JOBLESS FIGURES GIVEN THE FISCAL SQUEEZE? July 11, 2010 MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “The Labour Force Survey jobless measure also fell sharply in the last month and this may also now be starting to head markedly lower. We see the drop in unemployment as a sign that the economy may well have been recovering faster than generally realised in recent quarters.” PETER DIXON | [...]
Charity gets Goldman gift July 11, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs has stepped up its drive to repair its image in the City with a donation of £1.5m to the Mayor’s Fund for London, which will help put young people into work. The donation will be used to fund the Shoreditch Brokerage, one of the Fund’s flagship projects in the capital. The world’s largest [...]
Future holds fear for business July 11, 2010 BUSINESSES remain pessimistic on the chances of a sustained economic recovery, despite indicators showing that trading levels are at their strongest since before the financial crisis. Accountancy firm BDO’s monthly output index remained above 100 the third consecutive month in June – the first time conditions have stabilised at that level since 2007. The indicator [...]
Ideal Shopping Direct stakeholders mull sale July 11, 2010 THE founders of Ideal Shopping Direct are considering selling their 35 per cent stake in the home shopping channel group to cash in on a near doubling of the firm’s shares in the last year, the Sunday Times said. Paul Wright and Val Kaye could get more than £20m for their stake in the AIM-listed [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 11, 2010 Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity The charity has appointed fund management veteran Nichola Pease as a trustee, taking on the position held by ex-Man Group chief Stanley Fink until last month. Pease is deputy chairman of JO Hambro Capital Management, which she joined in 1998 as chief executive. She also previously helped to set up [...]
China trade surplus up on exports July 11, 2010 China’s trade surplus in June topped expectations on surprising strength in exports that suggests the global economic recovery has remained on track despite worries about a fresh slowdown. Chinese exports in June rose 43.9 per cent from a year earlier, beating forecasts of a 38 per cent rise, the customs administration said at the weekend. [...]
Sir Crispin Davis takes new role July 11, 2010 Former Reed Elsevier chief executive Sir Crispin Davis has taken up a new job as chairman of StarBev, which was bought out by private equity firm CVC last year from Anheuser-Busch InBev. Davis already holds a non-executive directorship at pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline.