BG Group agrees to £47bn takeover by Royal Dutch Shell in oil mega-merger April 8, 2015 Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced a takeover of BG Group, in a deal valuing gas producer BG at £47bn. Shell will pay a premium of around 50 per cent on BG’s shares, which closed up by 6.74 per cent at 910.40p yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of £31bn. BG’s board have recommended [...]
TNT Express share price rises on FedEx’s €4.4bn bid April 7, 2015 Shares in Dutch firm TNT Express leapt by a third yesterday after FedEx announced a €4.4bn (£3.2bn) all-cash offer to acquire the beleaguered delivery giant. TNT has struggled since European regulators prevented it from merging with UPS in 2013, with its market share declining by five per cent leading to a €137m loss in the [...]
UK needs an exports revolution says independent commission April 7, 2015 A revolution is required to boost British exports, according to a report by Graham Cole’s independent exports commission. Cole, the chairman of AgustaWestland, was asked to lead the commission by Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna. He told City A.M that “a lot has been done to improve exports. There’s [...]
Ryanair figures soar as charm offensive works April 7, 2015 Irish low-cost airline Ryanair yesterday reported a 28pc rise in passenger numbers last month, as a charm offensive began to take hold. The carrier, which has been on a mission to revamp its poor customer service image, said passenger numbers reached 6.7m in March – 1.5m more than the same period last year. [...]
Boeing fast off the runway as it leaves Airbus trailing on orders April 7, 2015 Boeing started the new year at cruising altitude by beating arch-rival Airbus for new plane orders in the first quarter, it was revealed yesterday. While Airbus recorded 121 new orders, it came unstuck when the Toulouse-based aviation firm was forced to concede that 20 orders had been cancelled, leaving its net booking behind Boeing’s 110 [...]
Deflation sets in as shop prices fall even faster April 7, 2015 Shop prices fell at a record pace in March, with clothing and electrical prices diving, and food prices falling faster than ever before. Overall prices fell by 2.1 per cent on the year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), with food prices falling by 0.9 per cent. Those are both the fastest declines in [...]
Afren gets Roc Oil boss Alan Linn to lead turnaround plan April 7, 2015 Troubled oil firm Afren confirmed yesterday that Alan Linn had been appointed as chief executive after the company completes a $300m (£202m) funding deal with its lenders. Afren was forced to dismiss its chief executive Osman Shahenshah and finance chief Shahid Ullah in October last year after reports that they had been receiving unauthorised payments. [...]
Mark Carney fears UK at risk from Greek contagion April 7, 2015 Britain’s banks and insurers could be in danger if Greece leaves the Eurozone, the Bank of England warned yesterday. The UK is not heavily exposed to Greece itself, but if it exits the single currency then it could cause financial panic in other indebted economies like Spain and Italy, which would then hit Britain hard. [...]
Panmure Gordon: Tight General Election race is good for investors April 7, 2015 A close General Election leading to another coalition government is good for stock market investors, economists at Panmure Gordon said yesterday, defying the conventional wisdom that this would bring bad uncertainty. In a boost to the Liberal Democrats, the analysis argues that both Labour and the Conservatives have policies which would damage the economy, while another [...]
Rangers shares cancelled on Aim and Dave King gets closer to chair role April 7, 2015 Scottish football club Rangers has ceased trading on Aim. The club’s admission to trading on the junior market was cancelled yesterday, after it announced last week that it was suspending its shares ahead of a move to the ICAP Securities & Derivatives Exchange, also home to Arsenal Football Club. Meanwhile, South Africa-based businessman Dave King [...]