The Olympic games are over – but Asia is still where the growth is to be found August 26, 2008 It was Aztec Camera who once sang “Summer in the City and the air is still”. I don’t know about the air, but the equity markets have been relatively quiet over the last week, except for a Warren Buffett induced bounce on Friday. Thank goodness – I don’t think any of us needed another August [...]
Indian tech giant snaps up UK’s Axon August 26, 2008 Indian software services giant Infosys yesterday said it had agreed to buy the London-listed IT consultancy Axon in a deal worth £407.1m – the largest ever takeover of a technology firm by an Indian player. Infosys, India’s second largest software services firm, offered 600p a share for Axon, a premium of 33 per cent on [...]
Turmoil is as bad as the 70s, warns deputy governor August 26, 2008 The current financial downturn is at least as bad as the 1970s, according to the Bank of England’s new deputy governor who has warned that there is no end in sight to the downturn. In an interview with the BBC, economist Charlie Bean, who took over as deputy governor earlier this year, said the current [...]
Fresh call for BE deal August 26, 2008 Invesco, the largest single shareholder in British Energy, is meeting today with government representatives to push for a merger between the UK’s nuclear group and gas supplier Centrica. Invesco’s head of investment Neil Woodford will lay out his plans to the Shareholder Executive, the body that manages government financial interest in public companies. Last week [...]
Fresh blow for Lehman after Korean investor warned off August 26, 2008 Lehman Brothers, the investment bank beset by worries over asset sales and the future of boss Richard Fuld Jr, was dealt another blow yesterday after potential investor Korea Development Bank (KDB) was warned off an approach. South Korea’s top financial regulator Jun Kwang-woo, warned KDB that it should take a “cautious approach”, after the state-run [...]
Tui Travel bookings beat the slowdown August 15, 2008 Tui Travel, Europe’s largest travel operator, said holiday booking continued to be robust as customers were not prepared to forgo their summer holiday despite the credit crunch. Chief executive Peter Long said the group’s “power brands” – Thomson in the UK and Tui in Germany – were holding up well in the economic climate. “It [...]
Never mind the credit crunch. What time’s the match? August 15, 2008 With the Premiership football season due to kick off tomorrow, London’s top-flight clubs appear to be immune to the ravages of the credit crunch, with some hopeful of attracting more fans than ever before. The stars of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Fulham take to the pitch in the knowledge that fans are [...]
Public spend boosts Logica August 15, 2008 IT group Logica yesterday upped its forecast for sales growth after an increase in IT spending in the public sector boosted first-half revenues by 6 per cent. Chief executive Andy Green admitted that the group was seeing a slowdown in financial services and consumer-driven sectors, but said other areas were holding up. Logica said that [...]
Eurozone fall raises global slump fears August 15, 2008 Fears of a global recession heightened yesterday as the eurozone economy recorded its first contraction since the single currency was introduced ten years ago. In the three months to June, gross domestic product (GDP) in the 15-country region fell by 0.2 per cent, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. The contraction marks a [...]
Falling rents delay plans at Cheesegrater August 15, 2008 Analysts yesterday said they were not surprised by British Land’s decision to postpone the development of its flagship City skyscraper, the “Cheesegrater”. The developer, which saw the value of its portfolio slide by 5 per cent to £6.3bn in the three months to June, said it now expects the 225 metre tower in the heart [...]