Wogen gets a 41p share offer June 24, 2009 METALS trader Wogen said yesterday it had received an £18.6m approach from its executive directors and the company’s co-founder, Colin Williams. An offer, if made, will be in cash and priced at 41p per share. In a separate statement, the specialty metals and minerals trader said it swung to a pre-tax loss of £3m in [...]
Football Association touting rights after Setanta’s demise June 24, 2009 THE FOOTBALL Association (FA) and the owners of other sports rights previously held by Setanta are desperately searching for new buyers to fill the payment void left by the collapse of the Irish pay-TV broadcaster. Setanta held the rights to the English and Scottish Premier Leagues, Premier Rugby, PGA golf, FA Cup and England football [...]
BARCLAYS TAKES THE METRO June 24, 2009 NEW YORK’S Brooklyn Atlantic Avenue subway hub is going to be renamed Barclays, after the bank struck a $4m (£2.4m) deal with the city’s transport authority. Barclays’ New York offices are actually in the more glamorous Manhattan, but the Barclays Centre sports arena is being built in Brooklyn as part of a local regeneration project, [...]
China snares 4.4bn Addax June 24, 2009 CHINESE state-owned Sinopec agreed a takeover of London-listed oil producer Addax yesterday, in a deal worth C$8.3bn (£4.4bn). The offer of C$52.80 a share – which comes after a behind-the-scenes bidding war with Korea National Oil – is a 16 per cent premium to Addax’s closing share price on Tuesday and more than four times [...]
Sants drops bonus payout June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) chief executive Hector Sants has turned down his £130,000 bonus for the last year, sending a message that the regulator is leading by example. “In view of the wider public debate relating to levels of bonuses payable in the financial services industry and the role of the FSA in seeking to [...]
Britain’s economy is improving slowly June 24, 2009 MOST commentators are focusing on the world’s appalling economic performance this year – the UK will collapse by 4.3 per cent, the US by 2.8 per cent, Japan by 6.8 per cent and the Eurozone by 4.8 per cent, according to yesterday’s revised forecasts from the OECD. But that is no longer really news. The [...]
Fed sounds cautious note June 24, 2009 THE US Federal Reserve said last night that the recession was easing as it kept interest rates on hold, but warned that economic activity would “remain weak for a time”. It also vowed to press on with its strategy of buying up mortgage-related debt and government bonds. America’s central bank, chaired by Ben Bernanke, kept [...]
OECD: WORST OVER FOR THE ECONOMY June 24, 2009 THE worst recession since the Second World War is drawing to a close, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) quarterly economic outlook, published yesterday. Stimulatory government policies and improving financial conditions meant the Paris-based think tank revised its forecasts upwards for the first time since June 2007, predicting that GDP would [...]
BBC facing a backlash over expense claims June 24, 2009 THE BBC looks set to become the next target of public anger over expenses, after deciding not to reveal how much its executives spend on entertaining its top stars. The state-funded broadcaster will publish the claims of its senior executives, which top £1,000 a month in some cases, but will redact the most sensitive parts [...]
Tories plan to beef up Bank’s role June 24, 2009 THE TORIES will hand the power to regulate financial institutions back to the Bank of England if they win the next general election, City A.M. can confirm. Under plans to be announced by shadow chancellor George Osborne before the current parliamentary session ends in late July, the tripartite system of regulators would be overhauled, with [...]