Rates left on hold as MPC split looms September 5, 2008 Bets were rising yesterday that the Bank of England meeting to determine the direction of interest rates was one of the most fraught on record. In the end the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave rates on hold at five per cent, but with members Danny Blanchflower and Charlie Bean going head to head [...]
Don’t punish energy firms, says CBI boss September 5, 2008 Imposing an “arbitrary and unfair tax on the energy industry” is the worst way to help the economy Richard Lambert, CBI director general said in a speech yesterday. Lambert said market forces must be allowed to work through the system: “There are no silver bullets to halt the decline in the housing market, or to [...]
House prices fall furthest in 25 years September 5, 2008 Yet more doom and gloom was heaped on the housing market yesterday as retail bank Halifax announced the first double-digit drop in prices since 1983. Prices dipped a further 1.8 per cent in August following a drop of 1.7 per cent in July, marking the fifth month running that house prices have dropped by at [...]
EDF in fresh talks over £12bn BE bid September 5, 2008 French power giant EDF is edging closer to a deal to buy British Energy, the nuclear generator, in the wake of fresh talks with some of the UK firm’s largest investors. The French utility, whose £12bn bid was rejected by British Energy’s shareholders in July, has been in productive talks with among others Invesco Perpetual, [...]
Informa says no to revised cut-price bid September 5, 2008 Informa last night rejected a cut-price bid from a private equity consortium, led by Providence, slamming the 450p a share offer as “significantly undervaluing” the publisher. City A.M.’s exclusive revelation yesterday that the consortium had slashed its initial bid by more than 10 per cent to 450p a share caused a stir in the financial [...]
Signet fails to shine as sales slump bites September 4, 2008 The World’s biggest speciality jewellery retailer, Signet, has announced a 7.8 per cent fall in first half pre-tax profit, slightly better than analysts had feared. Signet warned that the consumer environment in both the US and the UK remained “very challenging”. Investec had forecast profits of $75.3m (£42.3m), five per cent lower than those reported. [...]
Pru and C&W wrap up £1bn pensions deal September 4, 2008 Prudential and Cable & Wireless (C&W) have struck a landmark £1bn deal which will see the telecoms company transfer its pension liabilities to the insurer. In the largest bulk annuity deal in the UK this year, Prudential will assume responsibility for payments to 5,000 retired members of C&W’s defined-benefit pension scheme. The move, which paves [...]
Punch scraps its dividend as declining beer sales hit September 4, 2008 Pubs group Punch Taverns is scrapping its dividend, the group said yesterday. The move comes in the wake of reports of declining sales, which led to a plunge in the company’s share price. Punch shares closed down 12 per cent at 278.25p. Punch Taverns said the move was prudent given the “challenging market conditions”. The [...]
DSG cautious after sales dip at PC World September 4, 2008 Nine months into the job, John Browett, chief executive of DSG International announced yesterday he was not foreseeing a “chance for recovery until 2010”, following a first quarter slump in the market. Like-for-like sales in the 16 weeks to 23 August fell seven per cent on the same period last year, led by 12 per [...]
Microsoft beware: Google is moving into applications September 4, 2008 When Bill Gates stood down from Microsoft earlier this year, he was hoping his legacy would be secure. Windows Vista, the product of more than six years labour, was supposed to cement the firm’s hold on the computer desktop while the $10bn it had spent trying to topple Google should have at least allowed it [...]