US iPad distribution may be late March 28, 2010 Customers who preordered Apple’s new iPad may have to wait a bit longer to get the device, as the company appears to be having a hard time keeping up with demand. Apple began taking preorders for the iPad on 12 March, promising to ship the touchscreen device to buyers on the official sales launch date [...]
Synova acquires dentistry Group March 28, 2010 Synova Capital, the UK private equity firm has delved into the dentistry industry and bought The Dental Buying Group (DBG). The Group provides services and products to over a third of dental practices in the UK. Members pay an annual fee to gain access to DBG’s portfolio of products and services, including dental engineering and [...]
Banking firms see improved profitability March 28, 2010 ACTIVITY in the financial services sector stagnated in the first three months of the year but companies experienced improved profitability for the third successive quarter, according to a new survey published today by the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) and accountants Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). The quarterly report of Britain’s financial services industry also reveals that [...]
Four more US banks are shut March 28, 2010 A FURTHER four banks have been closed by US regulators as small lenders struggle to cope with bad loans. The move brings the total number of banks closed already this year to 41, the fastest rate of collapse in 17 years. The number of problem banks being monitored by regulators has reached the highest level [...]
NXP will try to raise $1bn March 28, 2010 Dutch chipmaker NXP BV plans to raise at least $1bn (£670m) to cut debt. It has hired Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to help run the sale. A consortium including KKR, Bain Capital and Apax Partners snapped up an 80 per cent stake in NXP BV in 2006 in a [...]
Waitrose in talks for EAT March 28, 2010 EAT, the sandwich chain favoured by City workers, could be sold within the next month to the upmarket supermarket giant Waitrose, City sources suggested yesterday. EAT was founded in 1996 by Niall and Faith MacArthur and now has over 30 branches in the City selling sandwiches, soups, pies and drinks. The husband and wife team [...]
Lloyds pumps up CEO’s bonus March 28, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group has rewritten chief executive Eric Daniels’ bonus contract, meaning he will receive up to £2.8m in shares this year. Daniels will be entitled to as much as 275 per cent of his £1m salary as a long-term bonus, up from 200 per cent last year. Added to his fixed annual reward of [...]
We’re being too gloomy on outlook for retail March 28, 2010 SO the clocks have changed, there’s now more daylight than darkness and spring is here. It’s time for some optimism, unless you happen to be a retailer. In the last week some of the biggest names in the high street have been queuing up to tell us how fearful they are about the consumer. Of [...]
Bank sell-off will take time March 28, 2010 IN the darkest depths of the banking crisis, many thought the government wouldn’t see a return on its investment in Lloyds or RBS. But with shares in Lloyds closing at 64.1p on Friday, it is now sitting on paper profits; accounting for all the fees Lloyds has paid for government support, it bought in at [...]
Desire gloomy on Falklands oil March 28, 2010 Oil explorer Desire Petroleum will report that oil discovered in test drilling off the Falkland Islands is not commercially viable. Desire is expected to say that while it has found oil, there is not enough to justify developing the field.