UniCredit committee gives its backing to reshuffle plans March 16, 2010 UniCredit’s strategic committee approved a controversial reorganisation at the Italian bank yesterday but a final board vote was delayed as key shareholders resisted in a power struggle with the lender’s boss. With shareholder foundations who control around 12 per cent of the lender opposing the plan, chief executive Alessandro Profumo is understood to have told [...]
Portsmouth could end its administration hell soon March 16, 2010 PREMIER League club Portsmouth could come out of administration in six to eight weeks, administrator Andrew Andronikou said yesterday after a High Court winding up order was suspended. The troubled club was back in the High Court to address revenues and customs concerns about the process in which it entered administration last month – a [...]
Virgin mulls free football March 16, 2010 VIRGIN Media is considering plans to give away Premier League matches for free as part of a package including its broadband, TV subscription and telephone services. It joins BT Vision, which is also considering offering top flight matches as part of its existing “bundle” deal, according to industry sources. If the firms go ahead it [...]
Kraft apologises for factory u-turn but says no more cuts March 16, 2010 KRAFT Foods came under heavy fire from MPs yesterday for raising false hopes about the future of a Cadbury plant as it battled to win control of the British chocolatier. Kraft had possibly violated the country’s code on mergers and acquisitions after its U-turn on the closure of the Somerdale plant, parliamentarians said in the [...]
AstraZeneca to push emerging markets focus March 16, 2010 ASTRAZENECA expects double-digit growth in emerging markets, the new battleground for Big Pharma as Western drug sales stall, but said yesterday it would be much more selective than some of its rivals. The drugmaker is not planning a wholesale rush to sell branded generics in the developing world. Instead, it plans to focus on around [...]
Honda recalls more cars in US over brake troubles March 16, 2010 HONDA will recall about 412,000 vehicles in the United States to address the risk that brake pedals may feel soft and slip closer to the floor over time, the company said yesterday. The recall covers about 344,000 Odyssey minivans and 68,000 Element SUVs for the 2007 and 2008 model years following customer complaints over the [...]
Suitors circling for Liberty after building sold for £41m March 16, 2010 LIBERTY yesterday said it is being pursued by more than one suitor after the West End department store confirmed it had sold its building for £41.5m in a leaseback scheme. The company sold the freehold interest in the 125,000-square foot store, off Regent Street, to private property investment firm Sirosa. Liberty will take a 30-year [...]
Public sector boosts G4S March 16, 2010 Security services group G4S expects to benefit from increased government outsourcing in 2010 and beyond after 2009 profit beat expectations, helped by growth in new markets and at its public sector unit. “With the fiscal constraints imposed on the British government the opportunity is there for us to help them reduce their costs,” chief executive [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW DO YOU RATE G4S’ RESULTS? March 16, 2010 MIKE ALLEN | PANMURE GORDON G4S has delivered a solid set of results some two per cent ahead of our forecasts at the adjusted pre-tax profit level, with robust organic growth running at four per cent as expected. We remain happy with our recently revised target price of 315p and the shares remain in buy [...]
Strong US growth to leave the EU faltering March 16, 2010 A MORE prosperous couple of years lie ahead for the US economy, with growth expected to be three times that of the European Union (EU), according to US economist David Hale and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The CEBR’s quarterly global forecast, produced jointly with David Hale Global Economics, predicts that annual growth in [...]