Vehicle sales at GM fell 45pc in September October 1, 2009 GENERAL Motors (GM) yesterday said its US September auto sales fell 45 per cent, pressured by weak consumer confidence, low inventory levels and the end of the US government “cash for clunkers” incentives. GM said sales fell to 156,673 vehicles in September, from 284,300 a year earlier when company discounts supported sales. But the carmaker [...]
FTSE 100 WELCOMES FIRST BLACK CEO October 1, 2009 TIDJANE THIAM became the first black chief executive of a FTSE 100 firm when he took command at insurer Prudential yesterday. Born in the Ivory Coast, but with French nationality, Thiam replaced Mark Tucker at the blue chip business. The appointment was hailed as a major step in the fight to diversify the City’s boardrooms, [...]
Hellman & Friedman raises $9bn for fund October 1, 2009 PRIVATE equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F) yesterday said it had raised $8.8bn (£5.5bn) for its latest buyout fund. It also said that co-founder Warren Hellman will step down as chairman and that a new chief executive had been appointed. It had been hoping to raise $10bn to help it focus on large-scale equity-related investments [...]
Cisco snaps up Norwegian video conferencing business for 2bn October 1, 2009 NETWORKING giant Cisco Systems yesterday said it would use its huge cash pile to buy Norwegian rival Tandberg for 17.2bn kroner (£1.9bn) in a bid to grow its video conferencing business. Cisco currently specialises in up-market video conferencing, using specialised suites with huge plasma screens that allow executives to have life-like business meetings. But it [...]
Quintain says the outlook for property is brighter October 1, 2009 REAL estate developer Quintain Estates and Development said it saw signs of an upturn in market conditions and aimed to attract more outside investors to a new property fund over the coming year. Its financial position continued to strengthen and its underlying business was sound, Quintain said. Rental collection, with three tenants in administration, was [...]
Virgin Media debuts on the London market October 1, 2009 UK INVESTORS displayed an appetite for Virgin Media shares yesterday, its first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange. Virgin Media, which began trading at 872p per share, rose to 912p during the day, but closed 1.4 per cent down at 859.52p after 1.68m trades. The cable operator confirmed this week that it would launch [...]
OPEN SKIES October 1, 2009 LUFTHANSA is buying a 20 per cent stake in BMI from Scandinavian group SAS, it said yesterday. Lufthansa, which already owns most of BMI, is paying £38m for the shares. The takeover will happen on 1 November. Ownership of BMI gives Lufthansa access to several much-coveted takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow airport.
UK publishers plan to charge online October 1, 2009 The majority of digital publishers in the UK are planning to charge for content online in the next 12 months, according to a survey released yesterday by the Association of Online Publishers. Around 70 per cent of publishers from across the newspaper, magazine and TV industries said they would charge for some content. This compares [...]
Banks to lend more but output suffers October 1, 2009 UK LENDERS are to make mortgage loans more easily available, according to Bank of England research. The Bank’s Credit Conditions Survey said availability of mortgages had decreased in the third quarter due to a deterioration in wholesale funding markets. But it said lenders expect more home loans to be offered in the final quarter as [...]
Aviva puts saga of inherited estates to bed in 470m deal October 1, 2009 AVIVA said it will hand out a £470m windfall to around 805,000 policyholders that invested in two of its with-profits funds by Christmas. The special payout comes from inherited estates built up by the funds – pots of money that were hoarded in boom markets to protect against market downturns. The reattribution of the inherited [...]
