SFO signals move to US-style tactics October 6, 2009 WHEN the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said last week that it intends to seek the Attorney General’s consent to prosecute BAE, this signalled a significant change in its modus operandi. It has never in the past publicised to this extent its intended actions in an ongoing investigation. In 2008, at about the same time that [...]
MYNERS PLAN BREACHES EURO RIGHTS October 6, 2009 AMBER MELVILLE-BROWNMEDIA COUNSEL, WITHERS LLP TREASURY Minister Lord Myners recently proposed that companies ought to be forced to publicise senior executives’ salaries. The idea has won much publicity, but could it happen? Perhaps not – it could be unlawful and even trigger costly privacy battles in the courts. Lord Myners envisages that such disclosures would [...]
Political polling produces instant public response October 6, 2009 THE big news here in Manchester is “daily polling”. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but never before have we seen the effect of the sound and fury at the party conferences producing, almost instantly, accurately recorded public response. The chart shows how Gordon Brown’s speech led to a very slight uplift, which disappeared the next [...]
Al-Faraj deal frees Pompey to splash out October 6, 2009 PORTSMOUTH’S new owner Ali Al-Faraj has pledged to dig deep to drag the club from the foot of the Premier League. The Saudi oil and property tycoon saved Pompey from administration on Monday by acquiring a 90 per cent stake from short-lived owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim. And having averted financial disaster, Al-Faraj has promised to fund [...]
‘I regret my stamp on Van Persie’, confesses Adebayor October 6, 2009 MANCHESTER CITY striker Emmaunel Adebayor admits he regrets his stamp on former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie. The £25m striker received a three-match ban for his attack on the Dutchman during City’s 4-2 victory at Eastlands on 12 September. But now the Togo hitman concedes he was wrong to lash out and says he wished [...]
Pension funds slam calls for annual voting October 6, 2009 BRITISH pension schemes with more than £50bn in assets have sharply criticised a call by other major institutional investors for annual re-election of all directors at listed UK companies. BT Pension scheme fund manager Hermes, and the universities pension fund USS – which manages £21.7bn in assets – said a move to put the entire [...]
BIRMINGHAM’S YEUNG GUN October 6, 2009 BIRMINGHAM City boss Alex McLeish says Carson Yeung’s takeover of the club has brought a ‘buzz’ around St Andrews. Hong Kong billionaire Yeung, above, purchased more than a 90 per cent stake share in the Premier League club and can now buy the rest of the shares on a compulsory basis. Funds have also been [...]
Chloride trading at full power October 6, 2009 Power protection company Chloride Group said yesterday that trading in the first-half was in line with its expectations and its order book at the end of September was up four per cent. The company, which makes the products which protect against power shortages at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Emirates stadium of Arsenal, said it [...]
Mobile contracts to hit 4.6bn October 6, 2009 Mobile subscriptions will rise to 4.6bn by the end of this year, boosted by a continuing mobile phone boom in emerging economies, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said yesterday. That represents about two mobile subscriptions for every three people in the world, although in developed economies many people have more than one subscription.
Dawson to meet expectations October 6, 2009 Print distributor Dawson Holdings expects all of its three continuing businesses to meet current market expectations despite the effect of the recession. The company said the three continuing businesses – Dawson Media Direct, Dawson Books and Dawson Marketing Services – retained good market positions and were profitable during the year ended 30 September.
