Aerospace and defence firms rein back spending on M&A February 22, 2010 MERGER and acquisition activity in the aerospace and defence sectors remained at near-record levels in 2009, though the value of completed deals plummeted as firms reined in their acquisition budgets, new research from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown. The value of deals in the sector more than halved over the past year to $10bn (£6.5bn), [...]
Mining charter contracts boost Skywest Airlines February 22, 2010 AUSTRALIAN regional carrier Skywest Airlines will this morning reveal it has swung into the black over the first half of the year, despite a worldwide slump in demand for air travel in the downturn. Skywest, which charters planes to ferry employees of some of the world’s largest mining groups to and from resource developments in [...]
Provident looks to float Kabel Deutschland February 22, 2010 Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners is thought to be considering listing German cable TV operator Kabel Deutschland on a stock exchange, abandoning its plan of a €1bn (£882m) sale to a buy-out firm. The listing could lead to a higher valuation of the company than an outright sale. Providence, which owns 88 per cent [...]
TIMELINE | ABBEY ROAD STUDIO – A HISTORY February 22, 2010 THE BEGINNINGS The 19th Century town house at 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, was purchased by EMI in 1929 with a view to transforming it into the world’s first custom-built recording studios. British classical music composer Sir Edward Elgar, opened the studios in a ceremony on 12 November 1931. Elgar can be seen in [...]
Tories under siege as polls show Labour closing gap February 22, 2010 WHAT a difference a couple of months can make. At the start of 2010, the Tories looked unassailable, with a consistent ten point lead in the opinion polls that would have translated into an outright majority at the election. Labour was imploding, while Gordon Brown was fighting yet another coup attempt, the terribly-planned “snow plot” [...]
Gordon Brown under pressure after new claims of bullying and violence February 22, 2010 GORDON Brown was under pressure yesterday, after it emerged that his violent temper forced cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell to launch an investigation. Whitehall’s most powerful civil servant is said to have reprimanded Brown early on in his premiership, after Downing Street staff said they were being bullied. The revelations are detailed in political journalist [...]
EU markets chief Barnier set for pacifying UK visit February 22, 2010 EUROPE’S internal markets commissioner Michel Barnier is set to woo politicians and business leaders in London next week in his first UK visit since he was appointed in November. Top of the agenda for Barnier, one of the most powerful men in Brussels, will be the raft of new EU regulation that many claim will [...]
Metro Bank in hiring drive February 22, 2010 METRO Bank, the new high street lender set up by US billionaire Vernon Hill, has selected a team of City veterans as non-executive directors to beef up its board, ahead of an imminent final decision from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on its banking licence. The bank – which is led by Financial Services Forum [...]
Taking stock of massive economic turbulence February 22, 2010 Excuse my philosophical mood – but there are times in life when you feel the urge to take stock of the world. I’m at one such crossroad. On Friday I’ll hang up my microphone for the last time this year before I leave CNBC to have my first baby. It all makes me wonder what [...]
Minoan raises £500,000 in share offer February 22, 2010 MINOAN, the Aim-listed resort developer, has raised £500,000 through a share placing. Two thirds of the cash will be put to work in Minoan’s stalled Cavo Sidero holiday park project in northeast Crete, which has been on hold since a legal challenge in early 2009. The remainder will go towards the company’s effort to diversify [...]