Pain ahead for the British economy February 3, 2010 WE simply don’t realise how painful the next few years are going to be – that, in a nutshell, was the message grim-faced analysts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies delivered yesterday. The Institute’s Green Budgets have become something of an institution in Westminster and the City; the reports are jam-packed with useful facts and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AXA PUTS SPOTLESS UP FOR SALE Spotless, the French maker of laundry and cleaning products, could become the latest “pass-the-parcel” deal between private equity groups, after Axa Private Equity put it up for sale with a €600m-€700m price tag. A recent recovery in debt markets has encouraged private equity groups to become more [...]
Cisco Systems beats forecasts February 3, 2010 Cisco Systems yesterday forecast revenue growth accelerating to a range of 23 per cent to 26 per cent in the current quarter, against the average Wall Street forecast for an increase of 16.5 per cent year-on-year. Revenue for the quarter rose eight per cent to $9.8bn. Profit rose to $1.9bn, or 32 cents a share, [...]
Uganda backs Tullow oil buy February 3, 2010 Tullow Oil’s purchase of Heritage Oil’s oil fields in Uganda is set to be approved by the government, ending its dispute with Italy’s Eni. Last year, Eni struck a $1.35bn deal on Heritage’s oil fields in Uganda’s Lake Albert basin, but was last month pipped to the post by Tullow – Heritage’s partner in Uganda. [...]
Lazard pays out bonuses to lure staff February 3, 2010 Lazard, the Investment bank, yesterday said it would pay staff more in cash and less in equity in a bid to retain key workers and lure top banking talent away from rivals. While other Wall Street firms have deferred bonuses under pressure to align rewards more closely to long-term performance, Lazard has eliminated deferred cash [...]
EMI appeals to Hands for £100m to meet loan terms February 3, 2010 FINANCIER Guy Hands is preparing to ask his private equity backers to plough another £100m into the troubled record company EMI. The company, whose artists include Coldplay and Robbie Williams, is close to breaching the covenants on its £2.6bn debt with Citigroup and has until May to find fresh capital. Hands has asked EMI to [...]
Ofgem warns of power cuts after 2015 February 3, 2010 The UK is facing the possibility of power cuts after 2015 unless radical changes are made to the energy market, the watchdog warned yesterday. Ofgem said electricity and gas may become unaffordable for some businesses and households unless drastic action is taken to secure power supplies. The regulator put forward plans for greater state control [...]
Military will get smaller February 3, 2010 THE Army could be merged with the Royal Air Force, under radical new plans put forward by the government yesterday. Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth also said that a cull in the number of top officers and a coalition with the French army were on the cards ahead of a post-election spending review that will put [...]
City veteran Delmar-Morgan makes a comeback at Allenby February 3, 2010 JEREMY Delmar-Morgan, the former chairman of Teather and Greenwood and Hichens Harrison, is making an official comeback at stockbroker Allenby Capital, City A.M. can reveal. Delmar-Morgan has accepted a non-executive chairmanship at Allenby, which was founded by chief executive Imran Amhad a year ago when he led a management buy-out of HB Corporate, then part [...]
Moulton’s Better Capital makes first investment February 3, 2010 BETTER Capital, the new vehicle set up by private equity veteran Jon Moulton, yesterday kicked off its investment mandate with the acquisition of aerospace parts supplier Gardner Group. The firm’s BECAP fund said it had invested £15m in the business, and expects the figure to increase to £20m over time. Under the terms of the [...]