VW moves towards Porsche tie-up October 20, 2009 Volkswagen said yesterday it would pay €3.9bn (£3.6bn) to take a bigger than planned 49.9 per cent stake in Porsche as a first step to a full merger with Porsche by 2011. Europe’s largest carmaker said it was making better than expected progress on co-operation projects between the two makers.
Gatwick sale is close BAA says October 20, 2009 Ferrovial, the Spanish company which controls airport owner BAA, is in talks with more than one bidder for Gatwick airport and expects to close the sale in the next few weeks, it said yesterday. The airport is expected to fetch around £1.5bn, but sales talks have been going on for almost a year, as the [...]
Minister calls on City to reform October 20, 2009 Minister for London Tessa Jowell yesterday said that the financial services expertise that played such an essential role in putting London at the top of the global city rankings will not be enough to keep it there. Jowell said the financial services industry will continue to be a vital part of London’s economy, but it [...]
Alpha Bank joins cash call run October 19, 2009 Alpha Bank, Greece’s third largest lender, will issue new shares and repay almost €1bn (£914m) of state support in a move to cut ties with government and resume paying dividends. A three-for-10 rights issue will raise €986m to redeem €940m of preferred shares the bank sold the government earlier this year. The deal is expected [...]
London hotels outperform UK as bookings dwindle October 19, 2009 HOTEL occupancy in the capital has seen a marginal decline compared to the rest of the UK this year, according to figures out yesterday by accountancy firm Deloitte. Hotels in the UK have suffered a 10.9 per cent fall in revenue per available room (Revpar) during the first three quarters of 2009 to just £60. [...]
Norilsk profit hit on metals price collapse October 19, 2009 Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest nickel miner, yesterday said lower metal prices pushed first-half profit down sharply, but the results beat analyst forecasts. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 84 per cent year-on-year to $419m (£256m). Mining companies around the world have struggled over the past year as falling industrial demand caused by the global [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 19, 2009 LAIRDKBC Peel Hunt upgraded Laird to “buy” from “hold” ahead of next week’s first half management statement. The broker has concluded there are potential upgrades to its forecasts based on restocking trends, high incremental profit drop-through and entry into a period of easier year-on-year comparatives.WH SMITHInvestec said that WH Smith’s expansion of its Travel division [...]
LVMH sales remain slow October 19, 2009 LVMH, the French luxury goods firm, said its third-quarter sales fell by 0.6 per cent after demand remained poor. But the firm, which produces brands like Moet champagne and Louis Vuitton fashion, said destocking of its top-end labels should come to an end soon. It reported sales of €4.14bn (£3.8bn), versus €4.16bn a year earlier. [...]
Opel trust:no need to reopen sale October 19, 2009 The German trust set up to oversee Opel said it saw no reason to re-open the carmaker’s sale despite EU concerns that Germany’s promises of state aid had skewed the bidding process. Seeking to deflate a row over €4.5bn (£4.1bn) in state aid that Berlin promised Opel should Canadian auto parts firm Magna buy the [...]
Gannett profits beat expectations October 19, 2009 Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, reported a lower quarterly profit that beat market forecasts yesterday thanks to cost cuts, while revenue fell because of a 28 per cent drop in publishing advertising sales. Gannett, publisher of USA Today, posted third-quarter net income of $73.8m (£45m) compared with $158.1m last year. Revenues fell by 18 [...]