D-DAY LOOMS FOR CADBURY PHONEY WAR January 10, 2010 Cadbury shares are set to jump this morning after mounting talk last night that Ferrero could make a joint bid with Hershey for the British confectionery group. Ferrero is thought to be working on a syndicated loan of about €3bn (£2.8bn). According to an Italian newspaper, Mediobanca, which advises the Italian chocolate maker, has contacted [...]
Co-op sales surge after price war January 10, 2010 THE Co-operative Group’s like-for-like sales rose almost 5 per cent after slashing prices in a battle with its rivals over Christmas. The UK’s fifth biggest food retailer – which now has 3,000 stores after buying Somerfield last year – was boosted by a massive advertising campaign and overhaul of brands. Like-for-like sales – including VAT [...]
Blacks Leisure in winter sales boost January 10, 2010 OUTDOOR retailer Blacks Leisure has said that it has benefited from Britain’s cold snap as it reported a 12 per cent hike in sales. Blacks, which runs its own brand shops as well as the Millets chain, said it had “significantly enhanced its recovery prospects” after a restructuring with the closure 87 of loss-making stores [...]
Tate pulls out of hedge funds January 10, 2010 THE trustees of the Tate Gallery have withdrawn from hedge funds after losing £1m on investments. Accounts show that the trust held £6m of its £27m investments in fund of hedge funds at the start of its last financial year. But by March 2009 the gallery had liquidated its entire hedge fund holdings – with [...]
Man United launches bond issue to help cut debt pile January 10, 2010 Manchester United said last night it was seeking to raise £500m through a bond issue to alleviate its £699m debt burden. The Premiership club had been expected to raise £600m via a bond issue. Its finance arm will issue senior secured notes due 2017 to refinance existing debt secured against the club. Last year United’s [...]
Boris: exodus from City to knock public finances January 10, 2010 MAYOR Boris Johnson yesterday called on the Treasury Select Committee to launch an “urgent” investigation into the government’s new tax on bank bonuses, which he said would seriously endanger the City’s position as a competitive global financial centre. The Mayor’s advisers predict up to 9,000 bankers could leave the UK for more favourable jurisdictions due [...]
Britain needs to rediscover how to save January 10, 2010 BELIEVE it or not but many forecasters are becoming more upbeat about Britain’s prospects for the coming year. HSBC, whose predictions are always cautious, is expecting growth of 2.2 per cent, much higher than the consensus; others are also becoming more optimistic. I remain more downbeat. But it is worth taking a look at some [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 10, 2010 THE SUNDAY The Sunday Telegraph GOOGLE BOSS WARNS UK OVER DEBT MOUNTAIN The chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt, has given warning to the UK and other western governments that reducing their massive deficits will be far harder than in America because of the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. PET CHAIN SUITORS GIVEN [...]
Transport stalled by snow January 10, 2010 The government said great efforts were being made to keep roads and schools open, amid signs that the severe wintry weather conditions are easing. Nearly all motorways and trunk roads will be open today, the government said. While it is not issuing any severe weather warnings at present, the Met office says snow, ice and [...]
Japan Airlines approaches bankrupt status January 10, 2010 The main lenders to Japan Airlines plan are ready to accept a restructuring package that would require the carrier to file for bankruptcy increasing the likelihood of a state bailout this month. A state-backed turnaround fund is undersood to be planning to establish a credit line of more than 600bn yen (£4bn) along with a [...]