Candover gets bids for Ontex June 29, 2009 Private equity group Candover has received interest from a number of parties for its Belgian-based nappy maker, Ontex. The sale of the nappy maker, which is understood to be worth around £808m, would raise much-needed capital for Candover, which yesterday said that it had ended takeover talks after securing its own finances and extending its [...]
RHJ steps up its Opel offer June 29, 2009 GENERAL Motors is rekindling talks with bidders for its European Opel unit and is thought to be close to signing a memorandum of understanding with RHJ, suggesting talks with lead bidder Magna have stalled. Canadian group Magna is understood to remain the preferred bidder – after signing a memorandum to buy 55 per cent of [...]
Hedge funds post their best monthly returns in nine years June 29, 2009 HEDGE funds posted their best monthly returns in over nine years in May as an appetite for risk returned to the industry, according to data released yesterday. The Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index closed up 4.1 per cent in May, with nine out of ten strategies posting positive returns. Emerging markets funds had the best [...]
Cantor Fitzgerald to create 100 new jobs in its UK operations June 29, 2009 US BOND trader Cantor Fitzgerald has unveiled plans to create 100 jobs in its UK investment banking operations. Chief executive Shawn Matthews said that the company is seeking to exploit the disappearance of rivals from the middle tier of the sector. “We’re looking to build out a global footprint that’s already in place and looking [...]
JOBS BACK AT APPLE June 29, 2009 APPLE chief executive Steve Jobs is back at work after nearly six months of medical leave. His return follows months of speculation about the health of Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor who underwent a liver transplant while on leave, and his future with the company he co-founded over 30 years ago.
Knight urges caution over bank reforms June 29, 2009 FORCING large banks to shrink would damage the UK economy, the chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) Angela Knight warned yesterday. Speaking to City A.M. ahead of today’s annual BBA international banking conference, Knight said the BBA would not support any move to scale down large banks and urged governments not to rush [...]
Turner to chair stability body June 29, 2009 FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner has been appointed chair of the Financial Stability Board’s standing committee for supervisory and regulatory co-operation. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international organisation, brings together financial institutions, regulators and central bank experts from around the world. Turner said: “We will work hard… to define the regulations [...]
Deflation fears for Eurozone June 29, 2009 EUROZONE inflation is forecast to have slipped into negative territory for the first time in the trading bloc’s history in June, dragged down by lower energy and food prices, data are expected to show today. A Reuters poll of 37 economists showed inflation at -0.2 per cent year-on-year this month, after prices remained flat in [...]
Talks of Voda and T-Mobile UK deal grow June 29, 2009 DEUTSCHE Telekom was playing down mounting speculation it will sell its T-Mobile UK subsidiary to Vodafone yesterday, saying it has only just named a new boss for the group. Richard Moat, the 54-year old former Orange Romania chief executive, started last Friday as managing director of T-Mobile UK. And sources close to Deutsche Telekom said [...]
COULD A VODA / T-MOBILE UK DEAL WORK AND WOULD IT GET PAST THE REGULATORS? June 29, 2009 EMEKA OBIODU OVUM This is not a case of a square peg in a square hole. Why should two seemingly underperforming businesses merge? Vodafone and T-Mobile have suffered revenue declines whereas O2 and Orange have grown theirs. Would two businesses with declining revenues suddenly turn a corner? MANOJ LADWA ETX CAPITAL Expect some volatility in [...]