US Zimmer deal boosts Smith & Nephew shares April 24, 2014 SHARES in Smith & Nephew jumped over three per cent yesterday following the buy-out of a group that tried to buy the British health firm back in 2011. New York-listed Zimmer revealed that it is snapping up rival US orthopaedic company Biomet for $13.35bn (£7.95bn). The deal has added more weight to a widely-held view [...]
Prettejohn joins Scottish Widows April 24, 2014 SCOTTISH Widows, the insurer owned by Lloyds Banking Group, yesterday unveiled veteran insurance executive Nick Prettejohn as its new chairman. Prettejohn has a strong insurance pedigree as a former chief executive of Prudential UK, Lloyd’s of London and an ex-chairman of Brit Insurance. Prettejohn will take up the post in June, and will also take [...]
Caixa Bank disappoints April 24, 2014 PROFITS dived at Spanish lender Caixa Bank after last year’s earnings were boosted by asset sales. Caixa yesterday reported pre-tax profits of €126m (£104m) for the first quarter, down 33.9 per cent on the same period in 2013. Revenues increased 4.3 per cent on the year to €1.8bn and operating expenses dipped 7.8 per cent [...]
Draghi hints at publishing euro bank’s minutes April 24, 2014 EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi hinted yesterday that the Eurozone’s interest rate setters could start to publish minutes of their policy meetings, following the standard practice of other major central banks. Speaking in the Netherlands, Draghi said: “The publication of a richer account of our monetary policy deliberations represents a logical next step [...]
Cost of servicing Spanish public debt drops to lowest on record April 24, 2014 BONDS issued by the Spanish government yesterday morning had the lowest yields on record for the country, as the cost of servicing debt dips to fresh lows across the Eurozone. The €5.6bn (£4.61bn) of debt sold will yield just 3.059 per cent, the lowest since the start of the single currency, and far below the [...]
France hints at block to GE bid for power plant builder Alstom April 24, 2014 THE FRENCH government has hinted it would block a takeover bid from US engineering giant General Electric for train and power plant builder Alstom, after a report emerged that a $13bn (£7.7bn) deal may be on the cards. Shares in France’s Alstom surged over 14 per cent yesterday, after a Bloomberg report, citing people with [...]
Labour to leave Co-op bank for Unity Trust deal April 24, 2014 LABOUR is in discussions with Unity Trust Bank after it emerged the party plans to end its long-standing commercial relationship with the troubled Co-operative. Labour is understood to be planning to move a loan worth over £1m to the trade-union owned bank, although a spokesperson would not confirm the deal had been done yesterday. “The [...]
Troubled group’s shops to spend £100m in cutting prices of goods April 24, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE group became the latest supermarket chain to slash its prices yesterday, as it fights back against growing competition in the convenience sector. The retailer, which admitted earlier this year to years of underinvestment, is spending £100m this year in cutting prices of every day essential products such as bread, milk and bananas. It [...]
Branson’s airline narrows its losses April 24, 2014 VIRGIN Atlantic expects the benefits of its cost-cutting plan and a tie-up with US carrier Delta Air Lines to help it back to profit by the end of this year. Virgin, which is in the middle of a two-year turnaround plan under new boss Craig Kreeger, halved its group pre-tax loss of £51m last year. [...]
Something fishy going on for Sir John Beckwith April 24, 2014 HAVE you heard the mysterious tale of Geoffrey the missing goldfish? City legend Sir John Beckwith, has sent a memo to all staff at 124 Sloane Street, where his fund management firm Pacific Investments is based, pleading for information about the fish who went missing on 17 April. “I hasten to add that some have [...]