AstraZeneca gets shot in the arm as diabetes pill given green light January 22, 2014 PHARMA giant AstraZeneca got a boost yesterday as a new diabetes treatment was approved by European regulators. The Anglo-Swedish company announced at the end of last year that it is spending $4.1bn (£2.5bn) on buying out Bristol-Myers Squibb from the firms’ joint diabetes venture, describing it as “ a core strategic area” for growth. And [...]
Whitbread chairman Anthony Habgood to step down this year January 22, 2014 ANTHONY Habgood is to step down as chairman of Whitbread after eight years overseeing the Costa coffee owner’s rapid expansion. The FTSE 100 leisure group, which also owns Premier Inn and restaurants including Table Table, said yesterday that Habgood intends to leave later this year. Whitbread independent director Sir Ian Cheshire, who is also the [...]
Bernard Madoff suffers heart attack January 22, 2014 BERNARD Madoff was hospitalised last month for a heart attack, CNBC said yesterday. Madoff, 75, told CNBC in an email that he had since returned to the federal prison where he is serving a 150-year sentence for masterminding a massive Ponzi scheme that destroyed the lives of investors. Madoff also said that he suffers from [...]
Margins grow despite dip in WH Smith sales January 22, 2014 WH SMITH hailed a pick-up in trading across its travel outlets over Christmas and said it was confident of making further progress this year, despite a continued decline in likefor-like sales. In what has become a long-running theme, the retailer said like-for-like sales fell four per cent in the 20 weeks to 18 January but [...]
Bottom Line: No change is no cause for concern – for now January 22, 2014 FOR ALMOST the entire decade that Kate Swann ran WH Smith, Christmas sales at the stationery retailer fell. Yet over the same period, its share price has tripled – climbing from 2004 levels of around £3.50 to a close of £10.43 yesterday. Its most recent update proved that investors – who’ve long cheered its ability [...]
Huge growth in new buyers leads Christie’s to record year January 22, 2014 HISTORIC auction house Christie’s sold more than £4.54bn worth of art and antiques during 2013 as booming numbers of first-time buyers led the firm to a record year of sales. Christie’s, founded in London in 1766, saw the number of new buyers increase 30 per cent last year. In total, these newcomers accounted for 22 [...]
Car and home insurance costs hit record low January 22, 2014 CAR AND home insurance premiums have fallen dramatically since 2012, a major survey has revealed. Research conducted by the AA shows record falls in the cost to consumers, including £100 sliced off motoring premiums in the last two years alone. But Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, warned that prices would not continue to fall in [...]
RBS accused of treating some of its small businesses roughly January 22, 2014 RBS TREATS some small business customers “roughly” and can worry others by passing them around from department to department, Sir Andrew Large said yesterday. The former deputy governor of the Bank of England told MPs the bank was poorly structured to encourage small business lending, and could give the perception that it cared only about making [...]
Hodge steps into CEO’s shoes at Pimco January 22, 2014 DOUGLAS Hodge, chief operating officer of bond fund manager, will step into the chief executive role when Mohamed El-Erian leaves the firm in mid-March. In a surprise announcement on Tuesday night, Pimco said El-Erian – heir apparent to Pimco co-founder Bill Gross – would step down as chief executive and co-chief investment officer. Hodge, a [...]
Debts across the Eurozone drop to €8.8 trillion in first fall since 2007 January 22, 2014 EUROZONE governments’ debt levels fell in the third quarter of 2013 according to figures from Brussels yesterday – the first time in nearly six years that debts have eased. State debts, which have prompted political and economic crises in recent years, climbed to the equivalent of more than 90 per cent of the euro area’s [...]