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 [...]
GALLEON INNOCENT PLEA December 21, 2009 GALLEON hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam (above) and co-defendant Danielle Chiesi yesterday pleaded innocent to charges of securities fraud in what US prosecutors describe as the biggest hedge fund insider trading case ever. Sri Lankan-born Rajaratnam, 52, is the most prominent defendant among 21 people criminally or civilly charged in an insider trading case involving [...]
CORPORATE SCROOGES FAIL TO PUT DAMPENER ON XMAS PARTY SPIRIT December 21, 2009 ANOTHER year, another load of City types wistfully remembering the good old champagne-soaked extravagances of old? Well, not exactly. Company bosses are certainly trying to give the impression of having left behind those days for good, what with all those blanket bans on corporate decorations, measly £10-a-head allowances at the likes of Royal Bank of [...]
BAA in airports victory December 21, 2009 BAA has won its appeal against an order to offload three of its seven UK airports – after the initial decision was ruled to have been subject to “apparent bias”. The Competition Commission ruled in March that the operator must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports. But an appeal tribunal reversed the [...]
National Express back on track December 21, 2009 BELEAGUERED bus and rail operator National Express has claimed to be back on track – reporting a stable fourth quarter with profits set to be in line with forecasts. The company said underlying revenues at its UK bus division had been boosted by 4 per cent thanks to a shake-up in fares and new marketing [...]
CITY FIRMS SET TO ESCAPE SUPER TAX December 21, 2009 INDEPENDENT insurers, asset managers and stockbrokers in the City can breathe a sigh of relief today after the government ended almost a fortnight of tense speculation by confirming they will not be subject to its super-tax on bank bonuses. Under the new rules, which will still see banks charged at a rate of 50 per [...]
BA set for fresh spat on pensions December 21, 2009 BRITISH Airways is on a fresh collision course with union leaders over plans to address the gaping deficit in its retirement scheme, experts warn. The troubled airline has until June to agree a solution with its trustees to the £3.7bn shortfall in its two defined benefit funds, which together cover around 100,000 retired and working [...]