Unilever share price rises as it reveals plans for business review in wake of collapsed Kraft Heinz deal February 22, 2017 Consumer goods giant Unilever has pledged to shake-up its business on the back of a £113bn botched takeover attempt by rival Kraft Heinz. The FTSE 100-listed consumer products group issued a statement to the Stock Exchange in the wake of a collapsed potential deal with US rival Kraft Heinz, which is part-owned by Warren Buffett and [...]
Now the Treasury Select Committee says it will take evidence on the business rates revaluation February 22, 2017 Andrew Tyrie has written to the chancellor for clarification on the controversial business rates revaluation. Pressure is growing for a review on an upcoming business rates revaluation after Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said the Committee will take evidence on the revaluation and its effects on the economy. Many, including London mayor Sadiq Khan, [...]
Here’s why analysts think Britain could soon stop making the Vauxhall Astra altogether February 22, 2017 Despite PSA pledging to respect existing Opel and Vauxhall job guarantees if it buys the European branch of General Motors, analysts still think jobs are at risk. And investment bank Evercore thinks Britain could soon cease to manufacture the Vauxhall Astra altogether. In terms of making a combined business work, Evercore said: "It's about hard restructuring [...]
Wrenching euro clearing out of London after Brexit will harm financial stability, warns the Bank of England’s deputy governor February 22, 2017 Dragging euro clearing out of London after Brexit could pose a risk to global financial stability and push up transaction costs, according to a deputy governor of the Bank of England (BoE). Sir Jon Cunliffe, who supervises financial stability for the Bank, hit out at “currency nationalism” as policymakers wrangle over the fate of euro [...]
This London developer has slashed its land value by 20 per cent February 22, 2017 London developer Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) has cut the value of its Earl's Court development by 20 per cent. In its results for the year, the company said the value of its Earl's Court site had fallen from £1.4bn to £1.1bn. However, analysts were expecting it to be worse. JP Morgan has predicted a 30 [...]
Weir Group’s shares tumble as it struggles to pump up profit in a tough oil market February 22, 2017 Shares in engineering giant Weir Group fell today as the weak North American oil and natural gas market caused a substantial drop in the company's full-year pre-tax profit. The figures For the year to the end of December, the firm reported a 22 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £170m, which was impacted by "severe oil and gas market downturn". Revenue fell two per [...]
FTSE-250 drug firm looking pale after $220m litigation charge February 22, 2017 FTSE-250 drug company Indivior's full-year pre-tax profits have taken a beating from a $220m (£176m) litigation charge. The drug firm, which makes addiction treatment drugs, saw pre-tax profit fall to $98m from $285m for the year to the end of December. The company recorded a charge of $220m in the third quarter of 2016 for investigative and [...]
BT appoints European replacement in the wake of Italian accounting scandal February 22, 2017 BT today revealed the person responsible for getting to the bottom of the Italian accounting scandal that rocked the FTSE 100 stalwart in January. Chet Patel, who is currently president of BT's global portfolio and marketing, will lead the firm's continental Europe division from 1 March. The position was vacated by Corrado Sciolla left BT, days after news of a £530m accounting blackhole in Italy was revealed. [...]
Bayer confident of finalising Monsanto deal this year after winning Trump backing February 22, 2017 German chemicals firm Bayer is confident of completing its takeover of US seeds company Monsanto this year after apparently winning blessing from US President Donald Trump. Reporting the company’s 2016 results today, Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann said the company was making “good progress” with the deal. Read more: You're the Bayer for us: Monsanto [...]
These five major airlines have been told to pay flight delay compensation as thousands of passengers look to have missed out February 22, 2017 Five airlines have been told they must cough up compensation to thousands of passengers for delays. American, Emirates, Etihad, Singapore and Turkish Airlines have been told they have to obey European laws as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) estimated over 200,000 passengers each year could be entitled to compensation. It has launched enforcement action against them today [...]