L&G is upbeat but sales fall November 3, 2009 LEGAL & GENERAL (L&G) saw new business sales fall 5.4 per cent over the past quarter but the trimmed-down insurer said it was now positioned to capitalise on a “modest recovery” in the UK economy in the months ahead. L&G said new business totalled £312m in the three months to September compared to £330m in [...]
Delta Lloyd offering falls flat as market retreats but Aviva trousers 990m November 3, 2009 DUTCH insurer Delta Lloyd’s initial public offering (IPO), western Europe’s largest this year, fell flat yesterday amid a retreat in the insurance sector and competing calls on investors’ cash. The shares, which had been priced at €16 (£14.30) each, at the low end of a forecast range of €15.5 to €19, were trading at €15.48, [...]
SHOULD LEGAL & GENERAL BE DISAPPOINTED BY ITS LATEST RESULTS? November 3, 2009 BARRY CORNES PANMURE GORDON“Whilst the sales figures look slightly disappointing the year end cash generation target of £450m has already been exceeded with £461m at 30 September. The capital surplus increased further to £2.5bn compared to the last published figure of £2.4bn at the end of August.” JAMES HUGHES CMC MARKETS“Overall the sales figures aren’t [...]
GM reverses out of sale of Europe arm November 3, 2009 GENERAL Motors last night ditched its plan to sell Opel and Vauxhall as new figures showed a sales lift at the recession-hit US giant. The company had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna after months of tough negotiations. The deal had the backing of the German government, which pledged [...]
Buffett on track for biggest ever deal with $26bn buyout November 3, 2009 WARREN Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will pay $26bn (£15.9bn) to buy out railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe in what the billionaire investor called a bet on the US economy. The deal, Buffett’s biggest-ever acquisition, is priced at a premium of 31.5 per cent over BNSF’s closing stock price on Monday and values the railroad at $34bn. [...]
Kraft results boost Cadbury bid chances November 3, 2009 KRAFT Foods last night posted a better than expected quarterly profit – boosting its chances of a successful bid for Cadbury. The world’s second largest food company reported earnings of $826m (£502m) or 55 cents a share, in the third quarter. Analysts on average forecast 48 cents a share at Kraft, whose operating income jumped [...]
Walker lambasts old boys culture November 3, 2009 THE City grandee leading a review of financial regulation aimed at preventing another financial crisis has attacked an “old boys” culture in City boardrooms and backed calls for M&S to overhaul its controversial leadership structure. Former investment banker Sir David Walker said companies needed to change the way their boards were run to ensure chairmen [...]
Nokia Siemens to slash 5,800 jobs, cut $1.5bn November 3, 2009 STRUGGLING telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks aims to slash up to 5,800 jobs in a move the firm saud will save it €1bn (£900m) over the next two years. The company will revamp its operations hoping to benefit from its stronger position in offering services to operators. Telecom gear makers have been hit hard [...]
Nomura bankers sue over sex jibes and intimidation November 3, 2009 TWO City high-fliers are suing investment bank Nomura for a total of £3m over claims that they were pushed out of their jobs by sexist Japanese bosses. Maureen Murphy, 30, alleges that one woman trader had her breasts referred to as “honkers” during a meeting. She also claims that a male colleague at the bank [...]
INM shareholders reject O’Brien’s bid to unseat two senior board members November 3, 2009 SHAREHOLDERS in Independent News & Media (INM) yesterday voted against rebel investor Denis O’Brien’s attempt to unseat Brian Hillery as chairman of the highly-indebted media group. In the first of three extraordinary general meetings that will decided the future of The Independent publisher, 65 per cent of shareholders voted with the board to keep Hillery. [...]
