Reckitt hit by OFT report into market dominance February 23, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading yesterday said Reckitt Benckiser may be deliberately abusing its dominance in the supply of heartburn medicines, adding to the National Health Service’s (NHS) vast drugs bill. The watchdog alleged Reckitt sought to limit choice during the prescription process and said it would await the company’s response before determining whether the [...]
Insurance head quits HSBC role February 23, 2010 HSBC head of insurance, Clive Bannister, plans to step down at the end of March and will be replaced by Asia boss David Fried, in fresh evidence the bank’s focus is increasingly shifting to the east. Bannister, who took the helm of the insurance business in November 2006, was previously chief executive of HSBC’s private [...]
Intel leads tech investment push February 23, 2010 US technology giant Intel is working with a range of venture capital firms to organise $3.5bn (£2.3bn) in investment in promising technology, the firm’s president Paul Otellini said yesterday. Some $200m of the funding will come from Intel itself. The firm has organised a group of 24 venture capital firms to invest in technologies to [...]
Champneys holds up in downturn February 23, 2010 Champneys, the health spa resort chain popular with stars such as Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham, said yesterday that its offering had proved resilient in the economic downturn despite a widespread slump in discretionary spending. Champneys said it had posted year-on-year growth of nine per cent, while pre-bookings for March and April this year have [...]
Commerz hit by loan losses February 23, 2010 GERMANY’s second-largest bank Commerzbank remained mired in losses over 2009, after the group was struck by higher-than-expected trading losses, bad debt provisions and exposure to the crisis-hit monoline insurance sector. Commerzbank yesterday posted an operating loss of €2.27bn (£1.99bn) for the past financial year, compared to a €5.45bn loss in the depths of the financial [...]
AstraZeneca agrees to pay £500m in HMRC settlement February 23, 2010 ASTRAZENECA has paid Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £505m to settle a tax dispute. The Anglo-Swedish drugs company owes the government over so-called transfer pricing – the price at which a group sells goods or services from one section to another. Astra will pay £350m next month and a second installment of £155m in [...]
Good results help Minerva February 23, 2010 Minerva completed an astonishing turnaround yesterday as it reported healthy profits, pointing to a sea change in the UK commercial property market. The real estate giant behind the iconic Walbrook building on Cannon Street reported after-tax profits of £45.6m for the second half of last year, compared to a loss of £186.7m in 2008. The [...]
The Walbrook is about to strike gold February 23, 2010 FOR those who like playing the waiting game, Minerva is a good bet. As expected, it swung to a profit while its net asset value (NAV) per share also continued to edge up, to 102p in December from 95p a month earlier. There were no major letting announcements, however, which will come as a surprise [...]
Telecoms giants welcome cross-party findings that a phone line tax is unfair… February 23, 2010 Telecoms heavyweights have thrown their support behind select committee findings that a phone line tax would be unfair for consumers. The cross party business innovation and skills committee said yesterday the plans would tax the majority to provide super fast broadband to the few. The £6 annual tax has been expanded from its initial focus [...]
… while claiming new file sharing policy won’t work February 23, 2010 The government’s defense of its Digital Economy Bill calling for internet service providers to ban known file sharers has been rubbished by telecoms firms. An internet petition called for the rules, designed to stop piracy of content including films, books and music and backed by business secretary Lord Mandelson, to be scrapped as they could [...]