Oil price slide casts shadow over Shell’s £47bn takeover of BG Group December 15, 2015 Shell's mega merger with BG Group was given the green light by Chinese regulators yesterday, but the deal has been rocked after tumbling oil prices led to a major shareholder questioning its viability. The price of international benchmark Brent crude oil yesterday fell to fresh lows of $36.33 per barrel before a rally in early evening [...]
Tech giant patent wars heading for Supreme Court: Samsung appeals patent ruling in Apple and iPhone’s favour over smartphone design December 14, 2015 The latest chapter of the tech giant patent wars sees the drama heading all the way to the US Supreme Court. Samsung appealed a patent ruling in Apple’s favour in a last-minute bid to minimise the over $500m in damages it’s been forced to pay its rival. The Korean tech giant paid $548.2m to Apple [...]
Government advisers back calls for an investigation into ex-HBOS directors December 14, 2015 Two independent government advisers have backed calls for ex-HBOS directors to be investigated by the regulator. Last month the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released a report into why HBOS failed. Iain Cornish and Stuart Bernau told the Treasury Select Committee they supported the conclusions that Andrew [...]
Short sellers eye Anglo American despite “radical restructuring” December 14, 2015 Hedge funds beefed up their positions in Anglo American, even after the miner unveiled a “radical restructuring” which it hopes will enable it to stay afloat amid a prolonged rout in the price of iron ore and other metals. Short-selling interest in Anglo American ticked up from 6.4 to 6.5 percentage of shares on loan [...]
South African pension fund ups stake in Lonmin after shareholders shun rights issue December 14, 2015 South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) upped its stake in embattled platinum producer Lonmin, after shareholders snubbed a crucial rights issue. The PIC, which manages South African government employee retirement funds, increased its stake from seven to 29.9 per cent, after shareholders bought just 71 per cent of its share sale. The shares had been priced at [...]
Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks announces intention to float with IPO in UK and Australia December 14, 2015 Clydesdale Bank today announced its intention to float on both the London and Australian stock exchanges. The British banking business, which is currently owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), confirmed plans for a demerger and initial public offering (IPO) in Februrary of next year. Clydesdale, which includes Yorkshire bank and is called CYBG Group in official documents, is [...]
Circle Oil share price crashes as it mulls debt restructuring and rights issue to weather oil price rout December 14, 2015 Shares in Circle Oil crashed today, after the oil producer said it was considering a debt restructuring or rights issue to weather the turmoil sparked by plunging oil prices. Circle Oil shares fell as much as 40 per cent to 2.25p per share today, amid a reevaluation of the value of its reserves which determines how [...]
Shoe fits for Cinven as it takes home Kurt Geiger December 14, 2015 Kurt Geiger is changing hands for the third time in four years after being snapped up by private equity group Cinven. The group’s management and its backers Sycamore Partners have sold the 52 year-old footwear chain to Cinven in a deal thought to be worth around £250m. The sale is the latest in a string [...]
Royal Dutch Shell to make 2,800 redundant as £47bn BG merger clears final hurdle as Chinese authorities give go-ahead December 14, 2015 Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is to make 2,800 jobs redundant globally as part of its £47bn mega-merger with BG, equivalent to three per cent of its total workforce. The jobs will be shed as part of a major restructure that will see BG's business rolled into Shell's when the two companies merge next yaer. [...]
Commodities rout, competition issues and zero-hours contracts: Here’s Santa Plc’s annual report December 14, 2015 Last year City A.M. reported that after the financial crisis Santa Claus was in line for his merriest Christmas in years. But things are looking decidedly less festive in 2015. At the top of his naughty list this year? Governments, we suspect, who have not only created controversy over the zero-hours contracts he (probably) uses to [...]