DO YOU EXPECT UK HOUSE PRICES TO KEEP FALLING? May 17, 2009 HOWARD ARCHER IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “We expect house prices to fall by around another 15 per cent from their current levels to bottom out around mid-2010. This would leave them some 35 per cent below the peak levels seen around August/September 2007.” MICHAEL SAUNDERS CITIGROUP“While housing is past the worst, the recovery in housing activity [...]
Uniqlo considers Gap expansion May 17, 2009 Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese entrepreneur behind Fast Retailing Co, owner of the Uniqlo clothing brand, has fuelled speculation he will bid for rival retailer Gap by saying it was not “a crazy idea”. Previous acquisitions eyed by Yanai include US department store Barney’s and Hong Kong’s Giordano chain, though both ended up falling flat. Yanai [...]
Informa selling off unit to reduce debt pile May 17, 2009 British publishing and events group Informa plans to sell its computer programme management division Robbins-Gioia for £70m as part of plans to sell off non-core divisions to cut debt, it emerged at the weekend. Earlier this month, Informa announced plans to raise about £242m in a two-for-five rights issue in a bid to reduce its [...]
Vodafone stockpiles cash for Vodacom deal May 17, 2009 British mobile phone giant Vodafone has already brought 20.5 billion rand (£1.6bn) into South Africa to buy a 15 per cent stake in local operator Vodacom, the latter’s lawyer said yesterday. With unions trying to block the deal with a last-minute legal injunction, the Vodacom lawyer said the money arrived on 7 May and the [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 BIG, burly, loud and infectious: Mark Bristow, the founder and chief executive of Randgold Resources, looks every inch a mining man. The 6’3” South African is in good form as he bounds into the gold miner’s functional London office in the shadow of the Savoy Hotel (it is undergoing a 16-month £100m refit – the [...]
Why Randgold Resources’ boss can afford to go on a 48-day bike safari May 17, 2009 Age: 50 Work: He became chief executive officer at Randgold Resources in 1995. Before that he held senior posts at Randgold Exploration, African Platinum, Harmony Gold Mining Company and DRD Gold Education: Holds a PhD in geology from the University of Natal in Durban Family: Married with two sons aged 18 and 20 Homes: Selling [...]
Clara Furse to leave the LSE in solid shape May 17, 2009 THE CITY’S most powerful woman, London Stock Exchange (LSE) boss Dame Clara Furse, is expected to issue “solid” full year results for the group as she steps down this Wednesday. The notorious “ice queen” is expected to report sharp declines in trading volumes, with the exchange suffering from the recession. But the declines will be less [...]
Commerz state deal backed May 17, 2009 THE GERMAN government put the seal on its acquisition of more than 25 per cent of Commerzbank over the weekend, after the bank’s shareholders approved a share issue as part of state support for the lender. In a near unanimous vote at the bank’s annual general meeting, investors approved the issue of 295m new shares [...]
Nomura to focus on US in its global expansion push May 17, 2009 NOMURA, Japan’s largest brokerage, will today officially announce a policy of beefing up its US equities division as it presses on with its global expansion drive. Nomura Securities (NSI), the firm’s US broker-dealer arm, said it was pursuing a strategy of “market leading teams to build out and leverage Nomura’s global franchise”. NSI has made [...]
BT bosses face no bonuses if they fail to meet standard performance targets May 17, 2009 TELECOMS firm BT will claw back executives’ bonuses, it emerged yesterday, should they fail to meet performance targets. The news comes after BT announced a crisis in its corporate services arm, more job losses and cut its final dividend last week. BT’s annual report, due to be published on 27 May will outline the details [...]
