AbbVie hikes its takeover bid for Shire to top £30bn July 8, 2014 US drug firm AbbVie yesterday made a hotly anticipated fourth takeover bid for UK rival Shire, bumping up its previous offer by 11 per cent to bid £30.1bn for the group. Shares in Shire closed down 2.6 per cent after the company told investors to wait until its board had met to discuss the proposal [...]
Vince Cable vows not to follow French example on Pfizer takeover July 8, 2014 The British government will not seek to follow the French in their bid to block the GE Alstom takeover if Pfizer revives its takeover plan, business secretary Vince Cable told a select committee yesterday. Warning that interventions like the one by the French government in the GE deal could drive away foreign investment, Cable added [...]
Banks bite back after red tape onslaught July 8, 2014 Poorly thought-out regulations are damaging Britain’s banks and hurting developing countries by cutting off access to finance, the head of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) warned last night. The sector has been flooded with new regulation since the crisis, and is at last standing up to challenge it, with BBA chief Anthony Browne highlighting the [...]
Marks & Spencer asks for more time as new website hits sales July 8, 2014 Marks and Spencer boss Marc Bolland yesterday called for more time for the effects of the retailer’s website overhaul to take effect after the high street stalwart posted its 12th consecutive quarter of falling non-food sales. The 130-year-old retailer broke away from its technology supplier Amazon and launched its own custom-built £150m website in February, [...]
Forecasters predict UK GDP to jump at fastest pace in four years July 8, 2014 The British economy grew at the fastest rate in four years during the past quarter, with the recovery still picking up speed, according to a respected group of forecasters. In the three months to the end of June, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said it expected that UK GDP would increase to 0.9 [...]
British industry shocks with May slump in output July 8, 2014 Manufacturing output slumped in May, according to unexpectedly poor figures yesterday, running against private surveys which had suggested that UK industry was surging ahead two months ago. Total industrial production dropped by 0.7 per cent in the month to May, while manufacturing alone saw a deeper contraction of 1.3 per cent. Factory output has not [...]
India credit line from Obsorne July 8, 2014 CHANCELLOR George Osborne announced yesterday that a £1bn credit line would be opened for investment in Indian infrastructure, during his trip to the country. The line with be available “where there is some British content”, said to Osborne, adding that he wanted to build a better economic and financial relationship with the massive developing economy. [...]
Euro reform deals spurned July 8, 2014 GERMAN finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and European Commission vice-president Siim Kallas poured cold water over the idea of relaxing deficit targets in exchange for structural reforms yesterday. Schaeuble said that reforms could not be an “excuse or an alternative” to fiscal consolidation, and Kallas spoke against accumulating further debt. The comments clash with those of [...]
Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank next in line for US sanction fines July 8, 2014 US authorities have begun settlement talks with Germany’s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank over their dealings with countries blacklisted by the United States, extending a crackdown on European banks at a delicate point in US-German relations. The talks, with state and federal authorities, came after BNP Paribas’ record-breaking $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine last week for busting US [...]
Challenger banks face struggle as savers do not shop around July 8, 2014 SAVERS do not shop around for the best interest rate, sticking instead with their current account provider, the City watchdog said yesterday. If few savers look out for good deals it means new challenger banks will find it hard to get a foothold in the market, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned. And if they cannot raise [...]