Petrobras raises $70bn in record share offering September 24, 2010 Brazilian state oil company Petrobras raised $70bn (£44bn) on Thursday in the world’s biggest share offering, giving the company the financial muscle it needs to tap vast offshore oil reserves. The cash will help fund the world’s largest oil exploration plan, which at $224bn for the 2010-2014 period aims to turn Brazil into a major [...]
Coup at HSBC September 23, 2010 HSBC CHIEF executive Michael Geoghegan is set to step down from his role before the end of the year to make way for investment banker Stuart Gulliver, after a boardroom coup that will rock the banking sector. Geoghegan’s ego will be dealt a further blow with the appointment of HSBC’s finance director Douglas Flint as [...]
Profits hit record high at Arsenal September 23, 2010 ARSENAL will today announce record pre-tax profits of around £55m, an increase of £10m, as the football club continues to reap the rewards of moving to the Emirates Stadium. City A.M. understands that the strong performance of Arsenal Holdings’ property development arm has driven an increase in revenue. The north Londoners’ continued success off the [...]
GSK hit by EU Avandia ban September 23, 2010 DRUGS giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been dealt a heavy blow by European regulators, who are forcing it to remove diabetes drug Avandia from the market on concerns it is linked to increased heart attacks and strokes. Yesterday’s decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to suspend all marketing of Avandia came after a lengthy review [...]
HSBC’s spectacular boardroom row September 23, 2010 BIG companies need to get their PR in order. BP’s reaction to its oil spill was all over the place at first, with its CEO Tony Hayward repeatedly putting his foot in it; the Prudential failed to communicate adequately to the media and shareholders during its hopelessly mismanaged bid for AIA. Now, disappointingly, it is [...]
Unions reject Tube talks September 23, 2010 TUBE unions embroiled in a bitter dispute with London Underground (LU) have refused a call by the public transport body to resume talks aimed at averting another strike. Transport unions the RMT and Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which together represent over 10,000 Tube workers, said proposals made by LU “do not go far enough [...]
Dubai to launch $1bn bond sale September 23, 2010 The Kingdom of Dubai will seek to raise about $1bn (£638m) from a bond sale next week, tapping the market for the first time since Dubai World’s $24.9bn debt restructuring. HSBC Holdings, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered have been hired to manage the sale of the five to seven-year bonds, which is likely to be [...]
Verizon to pay dividends in 2012 September 23, 2010 US communications firm Verizon hinted it may resume dividend payments at its joint venture with Vodafone in 2012. The company, which holds a 55 per cent controlling stake in Verizon Wireless, stopped paying dividends in a move widely seen as an attempt to squeeze Vodafone out. Verizon chief executive Ivan Seidenberg said it would probably [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HARMAN COOL ON PLAN TO HALVE DEFICIT Harriet Harman has suggested that Labour should scrap its pre-election plan to halve the deficit by the end of this parliament, becoming the latest senior figure to intervene in the debate over economic direction. Labour’s interim leader said the UK was now in a “new situation” [...]
Fears grow over second EU debt crisis September 23, 2010 FEARS of a second European Sovereign debt crisis grew yesterday as economic data showed Ireland’s second quarter GDP fell while uncertainty over how the country will support its banking sector triggered a sell-off in its bond markets that sent gilt yields to a record high. The sell-off came after the Irish government signalled that holders [...]