S&P 500 stocks at cheapest for 23 years, report claims March 5, 2012 A DOUBLING in corporate profits since 2009 means the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is cheaper than any time during its 34 peaks since 1989, according to new research. Companies in the US index trade at 14.1 times earnings after increasing 102 per cent since March 2009, Bloomberg data shows. But the information provider also said [...]
OFT won’t open IAG deal probe… March 5, 2012 BRITISH Airways parent IAG has come a step closer to buying loss-making carrier BMI, after the UK consumer watchdog said it will not review the proposed deal. The Office of Fair Trading said there was no need for a fresh investigation, given that the European Commission is already looking into the acquisition, worth up to [...]
…as BMI Baby gets second bid March 5, 2012 A SECOND mystery bidder has signed a term sheet to buy regional unit BMI Baby, which is being sold off as part of IAG’s purchase of BMI from Lufthansa. An unnamed EU-based airline group has tabled an offer to buy 100 per cent of the business. The term sheet is non-exclusive, and allows an anonymous [...]
THE ICEMAN COMETH TO TRIAL March 5, 2012 FORMER Icelandic prime minister Geir Haarde went on trial yesterday for failing to prevent the island nation’s 2008 financial crash. Haarde, who denies the charges, said nobody realised “there was something fishy within the banking system”. PIC: GETTY
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 5, 2012 Warburg Pincus The private equity firm focused on growth investing has announced the appointment of Francesco Granata as an executive-in-residence, focusing on the healthcare sector. Granata will be based in Warburg Pincus’ London office, and will help the firm assess new investments in the biopharmaceutical sector. He has over 35 years experience in the pharmaceutical [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 5, 2012 BABCOCK Panmure Gordon has upgraded engineering company Babcock to “buy” and raises its target price from 760p to 850p. The broker is impressed by last week’s £200m contract win with the Royal Australian Navy to provide support for the Navy’s eight Anzac class frigates, and has taken the decision to upgrade the target due to [...]
OFT will not review BMI sale March 5, 2012 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said the European Commission was best placed to review IAG’s proposed acquisition of Lufthansa’s UK unit bmi and that there is no need for a separate British review of the deal. But the consumer watchdog said it would continue to work closely with the EC to assess whether [...]
Eurozone retail sales improve in January March 5, 2012 Eurozone retail sales increased slightly in January, according to figures from the EU. Retail sales in countries that use the Euro increased by 0.3 per cent in January while there was a 0.7 per cent increase across all 27 EU nations. The biggest improvements were in Latvia, Slovenia and Romania. But another set of figures, [...]
Facilities Management – The Road to Recovery March 5, 2012 Difficult times: Facilities management providers are supporting UK businesses in unstable economic conditions.
Insurer AIG selling $6bn of AIA shares to repay US government March 5, 2012 Insurer American International Group (AIG) is selling part of its stake in Hong Kong-based AIA Group to raise about $6bn (£3.8bn) to help the firm pay off the US government. AIG is looking to place some 1.7 billion AIA shares in a range of HK$27.15-27.50 per share – a discount of up to 7 per [...]