EU suspends sanctions on Burma April 23, 2012 ● Most EU sanctions against Burma were suspended yesterday, thanks to a shift towards democracy in the country. The arms embargo will remain in place, but European companies will be allowed to invest in Burma, which has significant natural resources and borders economic giants China and India. The EU had frozen the assets of nearly [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 23, 2012 Northill Capital The asset manager, founded in 2010, has announced the appointments of Darius Berendji and Cathy Jones as partners in its management team. Berendji joins as partner and chief financial officer. He was previously financial director for Kedge Capital. Jones joins as partner and head of human resources. She previously held the same role [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 23, 2012 HERITAGE OIL UBS has upgraded the oil and gas group from “neutral” to “buy” and maintained its target price on the stock at 190p following recent weakness in the shares. The brokers says that the 22 per cent fall in the share price since the start of the year is “unjustified” given the company’s unchanged [...]
EPISODE 54 – FEEDING TIME AT THE ZOO April 23, 2012 But dad, it’s disgusting. It never tastes like this when Maria makes it.” “You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it.” “I can’t eat it. It’s all slimy. I’m going to be sick.” Noel slams his knife and fork down on the kitchen table. He sits with his arms crossed and [...]
FTSE hit by Eurozone jitters April 23, 2012 The FTSE 100 slipped this morning as investors reacted badly to uncertainty in France as Nicolas Sarkozy lost the first round of the country’s presidential election. Sarkozy was narrowly beaten by socialist Francois Hollande who has said that he favours spending to boost growth rather than austerity. Meanwhile Spain’s economy probably contracted 0.4 per cent [...]
Astra agrees to buy Adrea for $1.2bn April 23, 2012 AstraZeneca has agreed to buy US company Ardea Biosciences for $1.26bn (£782.31m), giving it a new gout drug to bolster its weak pipeline in a deal that fuels a wave of M&A in the biotechnology sector. The $32-a-share acquisition – a 54 per cent premium to Ardea’s closing price – is worth $1bn after deducting [...]
Vodafone agrees to pay £1bn for C&W Worldwide April 23, 2012 Vodafone has agreed to buy corporate telecoms company Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1.04bn, in a deal that adds a British fixed line network to its wireless network. Vittorio Colao, chief executive of Vodafone, said: “The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide creates a leading integrated player in the enterprise segment of the UK [...]
Nestle to buy Pfizer baby food unit for £7.3bn April 23, 2012 Swiss food group Nestle is to buy US drugmaker Pfizer’s infant nutrition business for $11.85bn (£7.35bn), beating out French rival Danone in the battle to gain preeminence in the lucrative baby food market. Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, was already seen as a favoured bidder due largely to its deep pockets, and is paying [...]
Hollande beats Sarko in French first round April 22, 2012 FRENCH Socialist François Hollande won the first round of a tight presidential election yesterday, beating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy into second place. But his success was overshadowed by a huge surge in support for the National Front, the extreme nationalist party led by Marine Le Pen. Le Pen – daughter of the party’s previous leader – [...]
MPs go to war with Treasury over lack of scrutiny for all-powerful Bank April 22, 2012 THE TREASURY will today face its last chance to strike a deal with angry MPs who have demanded fundamental changes to its flagship financial services bill. In an unprecedented move, the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) has tabled an amendment that would force a vote on the government’s plans to give the Bank of England sweeping [...]