ANALYST VIEWS: IS JOHN PEACE THE RIGHT MAN TO CHAIR STANDARD CHARTERED? July 2, 2009 NIC CLARKE CHARLES STANLEYThere had been a few leading contenders but with news that Win Bischoff is apparently set to become chairman of Lloyds, we were not surprised with the appointment of John Peace . He has done a good job as acting chairman since Mervyn Davies joined the UK government. However, we do highlight [...]
Johnson & Johnson in Elan deal July 2, 2009 Healthcare company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is to spend $1bn (£610m) on an 18.4 per cent stake in Irish biotech company Elan and will also pick up a stake in the firm’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment, it said yesterday. The transaction will hand J&J an interest in bapineuzumab, an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s that is in [...]
Renault executive exits Avtovaz July 2, 2009 Russian carmaker Avtovaz, which makes Lada cars and is 25 per cent owned by Renault, replaced the most senior French executive on its management board with a Russian as part of a crisis plan that could see other managers appointed by the French carmaker leave. Renault confirmed that Igor Komarov, Avtovaz’s executive vice-president in charge [...]
France imports UK electricity July 2, 2009 France is being forced to import electricity from the UK, after a summer heatwave forced it to close down a third of its nuclear power stations. With temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius, France has had to close down nuclear power stations which use river water instead of sea water in their cooling systems. State-owned [...]
MPs question Miles’ MPC job July 2, 2009 QUESTIONS were raised yesterday over new Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) policymaker David Miles’ existing position as non-executive director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The Treasury committee, which formally endorsed Miles as an external MPC member, said there could be a conflict between the two roles. The former Morgan Stanley chief UK [...]
Pru’s UK chief leaves after missing out on the top job July 2, 2009 PRUDENTIAL’S UK and Europe chief executive Nick Prettejohn is to leave the insurance giant after being passed over for the group chief executive job. Prettejohn, who joined the company three and a half years ago, was seen as one of the leading contenders to succeed Mark Tucker, who will part company with Prudential in September. [...]
London Stock Exchange tariff change sends its shares lower July 2, 2009 SHARES in London Stock Exchange (LSE) shed 5.5 per cent to close at 663.5p yesterday, as investors reacted to Wednesday’s announcement that it will introduce a new tariff to attempt to improve trading. In new chief executive Xavier Rolet’s latest break with the old regime, the LSE is cutting its fees by roughly nine per [...]
I’LL BE BROKE July 2, 2009 ARNOLD Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has declared that the US state is in the grip of a “fiscal emergency”. California has been battered by the recession and faces a budget deficit of $23.4bn (£14.5bn). Schwarzenegger has ordered several state offices to close for three days a month until June 2010 to cut costs.
Rio’s UK cash call a success July 2, 2009 MINING giant Rio Tinto yesterday pulled off one of the biggest rights issues on record, after the British leg of its $15.2bn (£9.2bn) cash call was successful. The firm said 97 per cent of its British investors took up the world’s fifth biggest cash call ever. The dual-listed company – which is seeking to ease [...]
Postal staff set to walk out as Royal Mail fails to deliver July 2, 2009 ROYAL MAIL yesterday condemned plans by London’s postal workers to strike over job cuts and modernisation next week, causing further chaos for Royal Mail. A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Customers will not understand how the union can claim to support modernisation but then announce strike action to halt existing efforts to modernise Royal Mail in [...]