Actis raises $750m for new fund October 5, 2009 Actis, a private equity firm focussing on emerging markets, yesterday said it raised $750m (£471m) to invest in power and transport projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Goldman in talks to extend its CIT loan October 5, 2009 LLOYD Blankfein, chairman of Goldman Sachs, is in talks with CITGroup which could see the investment bank’s $3bn (£1.88bn) loan to the stricken lender extended. In the latest of a series of lifeline deals designed to save ailing CIT, Goldman is considering changing the terms on an emergency loan it made in June 2008 to [...]
PZ Cussons cleans up in the recession with strong sales October 5, 2009 ORIGINAL Source shower gel maker PZ Cussons yesterday said it remains “cautiously optimistic” for the full year, after the group was boosted by strong sales of new product lines. The firm, which also owns the Charles Worthington and The Sanctuary brands, said profits across the group were up on the same period a year ago. [...]
AmEx’s Kelly to step down after two years in top job October 5, 2009 AMERICAN Express said yesterday that Alfred Kelly will step down as its president early next year to seek a chief executive role elsewhere. “In the context of discussions we have had about longer-term plans for the organisation, Kelly made clear to me that he wanted the opportunity to run a company as chief executive,” said [...]
Tories unveil 250m tax cut for new firms October 5, 2009 THE Tories yesterday announced a surprise tax cut for new businesses in a bid to create 60,000 new jobs. Speaking at the party’s conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans to exempt new firms from some National Insurance contributions. Osborne said that any business that launches in the first two years of a [...]
AT-A-GLANCE October 5, 2009 • UnemploymentShadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May fleshed out well-trailed plans for welfare reform, outlining a scheme that will give personalised help to young people who have been unemployed for over six months. Under Labour’s existing New Deal scheme, a young jobless person must have been out-of-work for 12 months before they are given [...]
Minerva boss spots the end of the slump October 5, 2009 PROPERTY developer Minerva yesterday gave further signs of economic recovery after reporting that the commercial market decline was bottoming out. Chief executive Salmaan Hasan told City A.M.: “For top quality space – the prime end of the sector – we are now past the bottom of the market, and over the worst of it.” Hasan [...]
Bitter gets a sweet lift as ale sales rise October 5, 2009 REAL ale is the only type of beer to report sales growth for the full year, boosted by a jump in women drinkers and an affluent consumer base. The one per cent rise in sales has outstripped the faltering lager sector, prompting experts to say that cask ale could be the lifeline for many pubs [...]
US adds names to toxic scheme October 5, 2009 US AUTHORITIES have approved a further three giant investment firms to participate in its programme of buying up toxic assets from troubled banks. BlackRock, AllianceBernstein and Wellington Management Company have been invited to join the Treasury Department programme. Together the trio will invest $1.94bn (£1.2bn) in the real-estate related troubled assets, taking the purchasing programme’s [...]
Newspapers to reward loyalty October 5, 2009 THE TIMES and The Sunday Times yesterday unveiled plans to launch a membership scheme that will give readers access to exclusive events, offers, gifts and rewards. Times+, which will be open to all for £50 but free to the papers’ subscribers, will offer a new revenue stream and help broaden its readership base. It follows [...]