Renault apologises to staff over false spy claims March 14, 2011 French carmaker Renault has made a public apology to three executives accused of industrial espionage after the Paris prosecutor said the trio had no case to answer. Bank accounts in Swiss and Liechtenstein, alleged to have been in the names of the executives and seen as key to the case over Renault’s electric car technology, [...]
Risk to Britain’s AAA debt rating declining, says Fitch March 14, 2011 Ratings agency Fitch reaffirmed the stable outlook on Britain’s AAA sovereign debt rating and said risks were declining due to budget consolidation and a healthier banking sector. “The legacy of the global financial crisis continues to weigh on the UK economic and fiscal outlook,” said Maria Malas-Mroueh, Director in Fitch’s Sovereign team. “Nonetheless, the strong [...]
Alliance Trust to shut down private equity unit March 14, 2011 The £3.7bn Alliance Trust, which recently came under attack from activist hedge fund Laxey Partners, plans to shut down its private equity unit to focus on its stock and bond investments. The 123-year-old investment company, which will drop out of the FTSE 100 later this month, said in a statement that it will shut Alliance [...]
Eurozone industrial output accelerates March 14, 2011 Industrial output excluding energy accelerated in the eurozone in January as manufacturing picked up in a number of core bloc members. Production in the 17 countries using the euro rose by 0.3 per cent compared with December, despite a 3.1 per cent fall in energy production, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said. On an [...]
Buffett’s Hathaway in $9bn deal for Lubrizol March 14, 2011 Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy chemical and lubricant maker Lubrizol for $9bn (£5.5bn) in cash, two weeks after he revealed the company’s plans to use its huge cash pile on deals. “Lubrizol is exactly the sort of company with which we love to partner,” said the legendary investor. Last month, Buffett, in [...]
Nuclear insurer Chaucer escapes big hit from Japan March 14, 2011 Chaucer, one of the world’s leading nuclear risk insurers, said it did not expect to take a big financial hit from earthquake-related damage to nuclear power plants in Japan. Chaucer said it provided property cover to a nuclear power plant at Onagawa, one of three affected by last week’s earthquake, but its policy excluded damage [...]
Bovis sees sales rise as profit jumps 20pc March 14, 2011 Bovis Homes reported a sales rise of six per cent tot £298.6m it produced an operating profit of £21.6m – up 20 per cent on the previous year. Chief executive David Ritchie said: “The Group has delivered a strong improvement in profit in 2010, driven by increased volumes, stronger sales prices and delivery of cost [...]
Rio Tinto closing in on Riversdale deal March 14, 2011 Global miner Rio Tinto inched closer to gaining control of coal producer Riversdale Mining after a $3.9bn sweetened bid rallied more shareholders to accept the offer but Riversdale’s top shareholders Tata Steel and CSN still hold the key. Rio, which has set a deadline of April 1 to gain majority control of Riversdale, said it [...]
Second explosion at Japan nuclear reactor March 14, 2011 A second explosion has hit the nuclear plant in Japan that was damaged in Friday’s earthquake – but officials said it had resisted the blast. Japan’s nuclear safety agency said the explosion was believed to have been caused by the build-up of hydrogen. Experts said the reactor core was still intact, and that radiation levels [...]
Japan counts cost of devastating tragedy March 13, 2011 ■ NIKKEI 225 FALLS 5.8 PER CENT IN EARLY TRADING ■ BOJ PUMPS £53BN INTO MONEY MARKETS JAPANESE markets were hammered this morning as traders scrabbled to offload exposure to the devastating Japanese earthquake. The Nikkei was down a staggering 5.8 per cent in early trading to 9,656.71, with stocks in firms including Nissan, Honda, [...]