King admits recovery slower than expected February 10, 2010 THE Bank of England has admitted that the economy will take longer to recover than expected. In its latest quarterly Inflation Report, the bank predicts that growth will reach about 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, weaker than an earlier prediction of 4 per cent. Inflation will peak at 3.3 per cent [...]
BHP Billiton in spending boost February 10, 2010 GLOBAL mining heavyweight BHP Billiton today announced plans to ramp up its spending despite its interim profits falling victim to the commodity downturn in 2009. The FTSE 100 group posted a 7 per cent drop in profit to $5.7bn (£3.6bn) in the final six months of 2009 as “significant volatility and continued uncertainty in the [...]
Astaire clinches deal to buy rival Hoodless February 10, 2010 STOCKBROKER Astaire is buying rival Hoodless Brennan in a £3m deal. Hoodless directors and another investor who has two thirds of the shares have given the green light to the cash and loans deal. Astaire has already sealed deals for Blue Oar, Rowan Dartington and Ruegg & Co. The company is expected to re-brand the [...]
OFFICE CHIC GETS A SPORTING MAKEOVER February 9, 2010 HERE in the City, we are used to enjoying state-of-the-art office luxury, so it always comes as a surprise when a landlord manages to offer something quite out of the ordinary when it comes to luring in the tenants. David Saul, the managing director of serviced office firm Business Environment, is no stranger to bizarre [...]
Germany in in talks to bail out Greece February 9, 2010 GERMANY and other European countries are working on a bailout plan to save debt-laden Greece and restore confidence in the single European currency, it emerged last night. The talks, which involve a range of possible options and could yet collapse, confirm that the European Union is keen to step in to stem mounting panic in [...]
Bailing out Greece is not the answer February 9, 2010 IT is now clear that Germany, the European Central Bank and others are seriously talking about bailing out Greece. The negotiations could still collapse; but there has been a significant shift over the past 24 hours, with a panicked European establishment increasingly desperate to salvage its beloved single currency. One option would be for Germany [...]
Products set to boost ITV February 9, 2010 EMBATTLED broadcaster ITV could boost its revenues by £50m a year, after the government lifted a ban on product placement. Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw yesterday said commercial broadcasters would be allowed to accept payment for displaying branded products in most shows. ITV insiders think the firm will earn around £50m-a-year from product placement deals by [...]
Kraft makes jobs u-turn February 9, 2010 KRAFT, the US group that began its campaign to take over Cadbury by pledging to keep its Somerdale factory near Bristol open, yesterday said it would close it after all. Days after completing on the deal, Kraft blamed Cadbury for its decision. Cadbury had already planned to close Somerdale and transfer 400 jobs to Poland [...]
AstraZeneca gets drug approval February 9, 2010 Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca yesterday won US approval to promote its cholesterol drug Crestor in preventing heart disease. The move by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expands the drug’s market to include people with healthy cholesterol but who may be at risk of other heart problems.
Cazenove chief set to quit February 9, 2010 The chief executive of JPMorgan Cazenove, Nuguib Kheraj, is set to leave his job next month because the US bank taking over the UK broker has failed to find him a mutually suitable role. The former Barclays director is a favourite to succeed Lloyds chief Eric Daniels, if he leaves.