And they’re off: Shire fires the starting gun on 2016’s takeover action with Baxalta deal January 12, 2016 Shire and Baxalta have agreed on their $32bn (£22bn) merger after six months of negotiations, sending Shire's share price plummeting 7.25 per cent yesterday. Despite impressive pre-market gains in New York, Baxalta shares also fell, down 1.55 per cent. Baxalta shareholders will receive $18.00 in cash and 0.1482 Shire shares per Baxalta share, amounting to [...]
Brighton and Bristol and Edinburgh top the list as 2015 rents surge in almost every UK region January 12, 2016 Strong housing demand boosted rental prices in almost every region of the country last year, new research shows, despite a slowdown over the last three months. Brighton and Bristol recorded the highest increase in rents last year, up 18 per cent respectively, while rents in both Edinburgh and Newcastle rose by 16 per cent. London [...]
Standard Life Investments to vote both ways on Shell takeover of BG January 11, 2016 A top City investor is voting in favour of Royal Dutch Shell’s £36bn takeover of BG group, despite publicly criticising the deal for months. Standard life investments will use its 1.3 per cent stake in BG to support the takeover at a shareholder meeting at the end of this month. The move, first reported by Sky [...]
CMC Markets to decide on stock market float January 11, 2016 CMC Markets, the spread-betting company founded by City of London financier Peter Cruddas, will decide whether to float on the stock exchange this week. The float would make millions of pounds for Hackney-born Cruddas, who founded the company with £10,000 in 1989 and now owns 90 per cent of it. The company is likely to [...]
Shell and BG shareholders defend £36bn deal after Standard Life says it will vote against the move January 11, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell and its supporters have insisted the £36bn acquisition of BG Group will go through after a major shareholder said he would vote against the tie-up. Standard Life Investments' head of equities David Cumming told the BBC he would be voting against the deal on 27 January, calling the acquisition "destructive" for Shell shareholders. [...]
UK mobile network operators EE and O2 are suffering technical difficulties January 11, 2016 Phone network giants EE and O2 are suffering technical issues, with customers across the UK unable to make calls. EE, the largest mobile network operator in the UK, is dealing with a barrage of complaints on twitter. "We’re aware customers from EE and other networks are having issues calling landlines. We’re looking into why and we’ll keep you [...]
Twitter share price drops to all-time low January 11, 2016 Twitter's share price has fallen to a new all-time low today. The stock is currently worth $19.47, down 2.55 per cent on Friday's closing price. It has lost 14 per cent of its value since the start of the year and is down nearly 50 per cent over the past 12 months. Shares in the social media [...]
The City remembers David Bowie’s bonds January 11, 2016 City folk were as stunned as all Londoners by the death of David Bowie, announced yesterday. The iconic musician will stay cemented in history for his exceptionally inventive work that spanned six decades. Bowie’s innovation was evident both in and outside the studio – and even in the world of finance. The Brixton-born legend turned [...]
Xchanging share price finishes down, as company urges shareholders to back Computer Sciences Corporation offer by Friday January 11, 2016 Outsourcing company Xchanging today called on its shareholders to accept a takeover offer from Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) by Friday, as it warned that it could not be confident it would receive a better offer from insurance software company Ebix. In December last year, CSC made a cash offer to purchase Xchanging for 190p per share, [...]
Sian Fisher appointed as chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute, replacing Dr Sandy Scott, who is retiring January 11, 2016 Former Arthur J Gallagher chief underwriting officer Sian Fisher has today been revealed as the new chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), taking up the position on 1 February. She replaces Dr Sandy Scott, who announced his retirement last March. Fisher said: “I am looking forward to getting out and meeting our members [...]