CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 21, 2009 Persimmon The housebuilder has hired Jonathan Davie as a non-executive board director, effective from 1 January. Davie, 63, is chairman of financial spread-betting firm IG Group, and is also currently a non-executive director of Portland Gas and chairman of First Avenue Partners. He has previously held roles as vice chairman of Credit Suisse and chief [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 21, 2009 CLAPHAM HOUSE Following a gloomy outlook from the restaurant group for 2010, Seymour Pierce yesterday said it pulled back its recommendation on the shares and is now taking a neutral stance on Clapham House. The broker had hoped a bidder would emerge for the troubled group, but without any suitors on the horizon and difficult [...]
Sanofi to buy US rival with $1.9bn offer December 21, 2009 SANOFI-Aventis will buy US consumer healthcare firm Chattem for around $1.9bn (£1.2bn), in a deal which will give the French drugmaker over-the-counter presence in the US market. Sanofi said it would start a tender offer for all of Chattem’s shares at $93.50 per share, a premium of 34 per cent over Friday’s closing price. The [...]
Credit Suisse picks M&A head December 21, 2009 CREDIT Suisse has promoted banking veteran Boon Sim to lead its global and European mergers and acquisitions businesses. The Swiss bank announced the decision in an internal memo yesterday, in which it confirmed Sim would take up the new role from 1 January next year. He succeeds Marc Granetz, who is also co-head of global [...]
Wal-Mart looks to Brazil for huge expansion push December 21, 2009 WAL-MART Stores, the world’s largest retailer, will invest up to 2.2bn reais (£740m) in Brazil next year, the largest-ever expansion plan by the company in Latin America’s biggest economy, a top executive said yesterday. Wal-Mart, which ranks third among Brazil’s largest retail chains, plans to open between 100 and 110 stores in 2010, Hector Nunez, [...]
Copenhagen disappointment hammers the European carbon trading markets December 21, 2009 THE benchmark contract for European Union carbon emissions futures closed at a six-month low on Monday, having fallen as much as nine per cent in intra-day trade after a weak UN climate deal disappointed investors. EU Allowances (EUAs) for December 2010 delivery closed 8.62 per cent lower at €12.41 (£11.04) a tonne, after falling as [...]
US healthcare share rise as medical bill progresses December 21, 2009 HEALTHCARE shares rose yesterday as a bill to reform the health system passed a first critical test in the US Senate, without many of the provisions, such as a government-run health insurance option, that investors most feared would hurt profits. The S&P Healthcare Index rose 1.4 per cent, while the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor stock [...]
EDF Powerlink workers to strike December 21, 2009 Members of the Unite union working for EDF Powerlink are set to go on strike for four days from today after last-minute talks with the company broke down. The strike could bring London Underground services to a halt over the Christmas period as the workers maintain its electrical systems. They rejected a two-year pay deal [...]
Opec to leave output on hold December 21, 2009 Opec producers are set to leave output limits unchanged at a meeting in Angola today, officials from the cartel said, but look likely to call for improved compliance with existing curbs. “For this meeting – no change,” Opec secretary- general Abdullah al-Badri told reporters. “There is consensus that there is no change. If you look [...]
Thomas Cook strikes Gold December 21, 2009 Thomas Cook has struck a £47.5m deal to buy the remaining 49.99 per cent stake in UK travel company Gold Medal from its founder, Ken Townsley. Thomas Cook acquired a 50.01 per cent holding in April for £24.9m. It hopes to make annual cost savings of £10m from integrating Gold Medal with its other businesses [...]