Johnson & Johnson will pay $2.2bn to end US drug probes November 4, 2013 IN ONE of the largest health care fraud settlements in US history, Johnson & Johnson will pay $2.2bn to end civil and criminal investigations into kickbacks to pharmacists and the marketing of pharmaceuticals for off-label uses, US Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday. The resolution of the long-running case with the company and its subsidiaries covers [...]
EU weighs up funding backstop to reinforce non-Eurozone banks November 4, 2013 BRUSSELS is considering using an EU fund for non-Eurozone states with balance of payments problems as a backstop for banks in those countries that fail regionwide financial health checks, EU officials said yesterday. The idea is part of a wider discussion on how to reassure investors that Europe will have enough money to bolster banks [...]
Factory activity grows again in currency bloc November 4, 2013 THE EUROZONE’S manufacturing sector saw a boost for the fourth month in a row during October, its best period of growth since the European Central Bank’s brief rate hike in 2011. The euro area’s factories recorded a score of 51.3 in Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a slight improvement on September, and above the neutral [...]
Swiss lenders fall after finance minister confirms capital plans November 4, 2013 SHARES in European banks Credit Suisse and UBS slumped yesterday after a spokesperson for Swiss finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf confirmed her comments in a newspaper that Swiss banks should be subject to a leverage ratio of six to 10 per cent, against the three per cent for global banks under rules that come into force in [...]
Kellogg planning staff cuts as snap goes out of sales November 4, 2013 KELLOGG, the world’s largest maker of breakfast cereals, said yesterday it would slash capacity and cut about seven per cent of its workforce by 2017, after reporting another quarterly decline in sales in its cereals business. Kellogg reported a better-than-expected adjusted profit for the third quarter ended 28 September, helped by cost cuts. Sales at [...]
Bargain Booze owner reports better trading since flotation November 4, 2013 BARGAIN Booze owner Conviviality Retail, which raised £64m in an Aim listing earlier this year, said yesterday its first half like-for-likes sales had crept up by 0.6 per cent. The firm said the increase was mainly due to reducing the number of underperforming stores in its portfolio, and that it expected to continue to perform [...]
Vodka maker narrows losses November 4, 2013 BLAVOD Wines & Spirits yesterday posted operating losses of £229,000 for the six months to 30 September, halving losses as profits from its owned brands rose by 21 per cent. The owner of Blackwoods gin and Blavod Black Vodka reduced financing costs by 68 per cent during its first half and slashed staffing costs by [...]
Hiscox profits from low level of catastrophes November 4, 2013 LLOYD’S insurer Hiscox yesterday revealed a 10 per cent annual growth in premiums to a value of £1.37bn as it gave results for the first nine months of the year. The upmarket insurer, headquartered in Bermuda, attributed the rise to “good growth in insurance business” coupled with “a low level of catastrophes”. However, it said [...]
Investor moves into Greenwich November 4, 2013 HONG KONG investor Knight Dragon has taken full ownership of a development in south east London’s Greenwich Peninsula after paying its British partner Quintain Estates £186m for its 40 per cent stake. Knight Dragon, an investment vehicle owned by New World Development Co’s chairman Henry Cheng Kar-Shun, bought its 60 per cent share in the [...]
Insured loss from St Jude storm to reach up to $1.8bn in Europe November 4, 2013 INSURERS will have to pay out up to €1.3bn (£1.1bn) in claims after the storm that swept through northern Europe in late October, broker Willis Re estimates. Northern Europe was battered by hurricane strength winds between 27-29 October, with Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany bearing the brunt of the damage to property. [...]