Austrian insurer Uniqa ups free float with €750m share offer September 23, 2013 AUSTRIAN insurer Uniqa launched a share sale yesterday that aims to raise around €750m for expansion abroad and boost its free float to as much as 36.7 per cent. Its re-IPO – so called because it will raise the free float from just seven per cent – is set be the biggest deal on the [...]
Barclays names Peter Horrell as head of wealth management September 23, 2013 BARCLAYS said yesterday that it had appointed Peter Horrell as the chief executive of its wealth and investment management division. Horrell was named the interim chief executive of the business in April and took up the post at the beginning of May. At the time, Barclays announced plans to restructure its wealth business so it [...]
Child labour numbers drop a third September 23, 2013 The number of child labourers across the world has dropped by a third since 2000, according to the International Labour Organisation. In 2000, there were an estimated 246m child labourers, against 168m today. The sharpest falls came in Asia and the Pacific, where the number has fallen by nearly a third since 2008. But the [...]
Toronto-Dominion Bank fined September 23, 2013 Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay $52.5m (£32.7m) in civil penalties to settle charges by US regulators that it violated securities laws in connection with a Ponzi scheme conducted by Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein, who is now serving a 50-year prison term. Toronto-Dominion Bank was fined $37.5m by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of [...]
Canada auction has local bidders September 23, 2013 Major foreign telecommunications companies have decided against registering for a Canadian wireless spectrum auction, in a setback for the government’s plans to introduce more competition into the mobile telephone sector. The lack of big foreign entrants in a list of bidders published yesterday is good news for the dominant Canadian companies – Rogers Communications, BCE [...]
Finsbury sees a big rise in cake and bread profit September 23, 2013 FINSBURY Food Group yesterday reported a huge rise in profits after it sold its Free From business and raised £3.8m through an equity placing. The bread and cake company’s profits before tax soared 19 per cent to £5.5m, up from £4.6m, in the year to 29 June. Meanwhile debt fell 78 per cent from £33.9m [...]
Danone powdered milk business probes China bribery allegations September 23, 2013 A UNIT of French food group Danone said yesterday it has opened an investigation after Chinese state TV reported that it bribed medical staff to boost sales of its infant formula at hospitals in a number of regions across northern China. The latest allegations follow a report by China Central Television (CCTV) last week that [...]
Jerome Booth’s investment firm buys UK’s Icon Film Distribution September 23, 2013 SERIAL investor Jerome Booth turned his focus to the silver screen yesterday, as his investment company bought UK film distributor Icon. New Sparta, the vehicle Booth founded to invest in film and media firms, bought Icon Film Distribution from its parent company Icon UK Group for an undisclosed sum. Icon has a library of more [...]
Dairy Crest rates cheese better than butter as spread sales dip September 23, 2013 DAIRY Crest hailed Cathedral City cheese as its star performer yesterday, as it predicted steady sales for its first half of the year. The dairy food producer, whose products also include Clover, Utterly Butterly and Country Life, said sales of its four key brands for the six months to 30 September are likely to be [...]
Bangladesh garment factories are forced to shut as protests continue September 23, 2013 MORE than 100 Bangladeshi garment factories were forced to shut yesterday as thousands of workers protested to demand a $100 a month minimum wage and about 50 people were injured in clashes, police and witnesses said. Garments are a vital sector for Bangladesh and its low wages and duty-free access to western markets have helped [...]