Hapag Lloyd seeks state bailout August 16, 2009 Ailing shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has applied for €1.2bn (£1.03bn) in German state loan guarantees, it emerged yesterday. HSH Nordbank, the German bank, admitted last week it had filed an application for state guarantees for the container shipping company. It is unclear when a decision will be made about the application for state aid.
Shell targets 1.5bn takeover August 16, 2009 Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is understood to have made a £1.5bn takeover approach for Australian coal seam gas producer Arrow Energy. The group, which already owns 30 per cent of Arrow’s Australian acreage, is believed to have discussed the deal several weeks ago as part of wider talks over further investment plans.
Salary-cut insurance to launch August 16, 2009 An insurance service aimed at protecting workers against the chances of a cut in salary is ready to be launched in the UK next month as the difficult economic climate sparks the demand for innovative financial products. Salisbury Underwriting Services is preparing to debut salary gap insurance to bridge the divide for workers made redundant [...]
COURT O’CLOCK August 16, 2009 DRINKS giant Diageo is taking legal action against supermarket J Sainsbury’s after alleging it broke copyright of its Pimm’s brand. The move follows the supermarket launching it’s “own version” of the summer cocktail named “Pitcher’s”. Sainsbury said yesterday it would “vigorously defend these allegations”.
Burrows set for BAT chair August 16, 2009 RICHARD Burrows, former governor of the Bank of Ireland (BoI), will be named this week as chairman of British American Tobacco (BAT). Burrows will fill the gap left by Jan du Plessis, who announced in April that he was stepping down after taking up the chairmanship of mining giant Rio Tinto. BAT is the world’s [...]
Allied Irish Bank receives an approach to sell minor stake August 16, 2009 ALLIED Irish Bank is believed to have received an approach from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce which wants to take a minority stake in the lender. The Irish institution had earlier said it received an approach from a third party. Earlier this month Allied Irish said it was over the worst of the financial crisis [...]
BLOCKBUSTER BOX OFFICE August 16, 2009 Britain’s second-biggest cinema chain, Cineworld, is likely to post strong first-half numbers on Thursday, buoyed by the success of blockbuster films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Transformers. The cinema industry has seen attendances at their highest level for seven years – with ticket sales up 14.5 per cent to 83.5m –according to the Cinema Advertising [...]
Experts urge caution for UK market gains August 16, 2009 RECENT market exuberance may be ill-advised as the UK faces further pain before it can follow France and Germany out of recession, economists warned yesterday. The benchmark FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest companies touched a 10-month high of 4,755 points during last week’s trading. But these heights may not be underpinned by economic fundamentals. [...]
Amey set for a record breaking year in slump August 16, 2009 AMEY, the Spanish-owned group helping to upgrade the London Underground, said it is on course to make £2bn in revenue for the year, clearing the way to become one of the 10 biggest construction groups operating in the UK. Sales went up to around £1.5bn last year, Amey said in a report filed to Companies [...]
IS THE UK RECESSION SET TO END ALONG WITH FRANCE’S AND GERMANY’S? August 16, 2009 DAVID BUIK BGC PARTNERSNo, we are behind the curve. There is little doubt that the two main players from the EU have more balanced economies. Conversely, the UK has tended to neglect manufacturing output and industrial production.JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR CHARLES STANLEYNo. It goes without saying that the Bank of England clearly does not share the general [...]