US reduces its stake in Ally January 16, 2014 THE US Treasury Department yesterday announced plans to sell 410,000 shares in auto lender Ally Financial as part of its effort to unwind its financial bailout fund. The Treasury said it expected taxpayers to recover about $3bn from the private offering of Ally common stock at $7,375 per share. The sale would reduce the government’s [...]
J&J sells unit in $4bn deal January 16, 2014 JOHNSON & Johnson said yesterday it will sell its ortho clinical diagnostics unit to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $4.15bn, a year after announcing it was considering spinning off or selling the slow-growing business. The firms said that, if approved, the deal should close in the middle of 2014. In January 2013, J&J said [...]
Inside Track: Bankers wait for pay to rise as bonuses come down January 16, 2014 There’s an episode in John Lanchester’s book, Capital, when the investment banker character Roger fears his bonus will be the same as his annual salary, £150,000. “In practical terms, that would be the same as being dragged out of the office and finished off with a bullet in the back of the neck,” the author [...]
Co-op Group looks to end long tradition of members-only board January 16, 2014 EXECUTIVES in the Co-op Group could be appointed to the board in a bid to improve the expertise of the leadership, the firm said yesterday. In the past the board has been made up of 20 people from the Co-op movement, voted in by the members who own the business. But in the wake of the Paul [...]
Britain’s firms to invest cash piles at long last January 16, 2014 BUSINESS investment is set to bounce back in the UK this year, the European Central Bank (ECB) forecast yesterday. Firms have been cautious since the financial crisis, holding back cash instead of investing while they wait and see when the recovery kicks in. They have also been hampered by a lack of support from banks [...]
American Express profit doubles as US shoppers spend at Xmas January 16, 2014 CREDIT card company American Express’s quarterly profit more than doubled as customers spent more in the holiday season in the United States, its core market. American Express said worldwide spending on its cards rose eight per cent in the quarter ended 31 December, the biggest jump in four quarters. Net income rose to $1.31bn, or [...]
BBC’s James Max to advise BNP Paribas January 16, 2014 BBC presenter James Max is to be appointed as a senior advisory director for business development at BNP Paribas Real Estate. Max currently presents weekday Early Breakfast on BBC London 94.9. Prior to his media career, he spent 15 years working in property, finance and investment.
Euro inflation slows further January 16, 2014 CORE inflation in the Euro area is at the lowest level in the region’s history, with 0.7 per cent price growth in December 2012. The headline figure for the bloc’s consumer price inflation last month was 0.8 per cent, but the core number that excludes volatile items dropped to the lowest in the single currency’s [...]
Grim year for EU car sales January 16, 2014 CAR sales in the EU crumbled to their lowest level in nearly two decades during 2013, as the currency union’s economic stagnation hit the automotive industry hard. Only 11.85m new cars were registered last year, a 1.7 per cent drop from 2012, the sixth year of contraction. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association were [...]
Boris insists an estuary airport has the X Factor January 16, 2014 THE MAYOR of London’s aviation adviser yesterday criticised the airports commission for making decisions like a judging panel on the X Factor. Daniel Moylan also complained Sir Howard Davies and his team were keeping City Hall out of the loop on an issue that could change the face of London. “They have treated the mayor [...]