ECB: banks to face risks as earnings rise April 19, 2010 Euro area banks still face big risks even after earnings rebounded in 2009 on the back of surging investment banking profit, the European Central Bank said yesterday. “Notwithstanding the improvement in euro area [banks’] earnings in 2009, the outlook for euro area banking system stability is clouded by significant risks,” the ECB said in its [...]
Deutsche Bahn will offer Arriva £1.5bn April 19, 2010 GERMAN state rail company Deutsche Bahn is willing to offer just over £1.5bn in cash to buy Arriva, the British train and bus operator said. Arriva said it was in advanced talks with Deutsche Bahn about its offer of 775p per share and that Arriva shareholders would be entitled to receive a proposed final dividend [...]
Wal-Mart chief executive sees remuneration slump April 19, 2010 Wal-Mart Stores chief executive Michael Duke received a compensation package worth slightly more than $19m (£12.4m) in the financial year ended in January, down sharply from $28.2m a year earlier when he received a big stock award related to his promotion to the top job. Duke replaced Lee Scott, who retired as chief executive as [...]
Insider dealing case begins over Novartis buyout April 19, 2010 A FINANCE director and two lawyers appeared in court yesterday charged with eight counts of insider dealing during the £305m takeover of a biotech firm NeuTec Pharma by Swiss giant drugmaker Novartis in 2006. Andrew King, 62, is charged with disclosing inside information about the takeover of NeuTec Pharma, which he was party to as [...]
MIRAMAX: BACK TO THE FUTURE April 19, 2010 HARVEY and Bob Weinstein have moved a step closer to regaining control of Miramax, the film studio they sold to Disney 17 years ago. They are preparing to launch an audacious $660m (£392m) bid for the studio that produced classic movies such as Pulp Fiction, staring Uma Thurman (pictured), and Shakespeare in Love.
Balfour Beatty wins contract April 19, 2010 Contractor Balfour Beatty was named as Ealing Council’s preferred bidder for its £300m public-private partnership school building project yesterday. The contract win, Balfour Beatty’s fourth this month, will see the firm deliver upgrades and extensions to 14 of the borough’s schools, along with the construction of a new site in North Greenford. IT specialist RM [...]
Jarvis grows clients by 44pc April 19, 2010 Shares in Jarvis Securities, the stockbroker, soared yesterday after the company said it grew its active client numbers by 44 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. Trading volumes were up 71 per cent, while total assets under administration were up 22 per cent. Chief executive Andrew Grant predicted growth in interest income from Jarvis’ [...]
Amec scoops gas support role April 19, 2010 Amec, the engineering project management group, sealed a three-year extension to its work on the Shell Onegas Southern North Sea field. Amec and its joint venture partners, Jacobs Engineering and Stork?Industry Services were handed the deal, worth €200m (£176m) per year, by Shell Exploration and Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij.
NAB’s £8.5bn bid is vetoed by watchdog April 19, 2010 Australia’s competition watchdog blocked National Australia Bank’s (NAB) A$13.3bn (£8.5bn) bid for AXA Asia Pacific, putting the agreed deal in limbo and allowing rival bidder AMP to make a comeback. AXA Asia Pacific, owned 54 per cent by French insurer AXA, is Australia’s sixth-largest wealth manager and a hot takeover target in a £650bn market [...]
Philips sees the light as quarterly profits rebound April 19, 2010 GLOBAL electronics giant Philips has reported a pre-tax profit of €320m (£283m) for the first three months of the year. The company’s performance in the first quarter compared with big losses in 2009. Sales of its lighting products – which jumped by 18 per cent – helped to boost the latest figures, the firm said. [...]