Blackstone invests in India September 3, 2012 Blackstone has invested 2.43bn rupees (£27.5m) to buy a significant minority stake in unlisted Indian fragrance maker SH Kelkar & Company, the firms said in a joint statement yesterday. The US private equity giant has bought a 34.5 per cent stake in the company, sources said. Keynote Corporate Services was the adviser for the transaction.
Profits dip at City of London IG September 3, 2012 City of London Investment Group yesterday posted a 12 per cent drop in full year profits and said funds under management had fallen 18 per cent over the period to £2.9bn. Pre-tax profits dropped to £11.5m from £13.1m, reducing basic earnings per share from 35.1p to 33.8p. It kept its full year dividend of 24p. [...]
AXA Private Equity buys data firm September 3, 2012 AXA Private Equity yesterday announced it had acquired French data collection company Place des Leads. It follows on from the group’s purchase of a majority stake in German clothing exporter Schustermann & Borenstein last month. AXA Private Equity director Antoine Lacour said in a statement: “This investment was attractive largely thanks to the significant expertise [...]
RBS praised for quick clean-up of IT meltdown September 3, 2012 THE ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) reacted quickly and effectively to its IT crisis in late June, an influential committee of MPs has declared today – but now bears a major responsibility to restore faith in the system. The Treasury Select Committee has published a series of letters to and from RBS boss Stephen Hester [...]
Fred Goodwin to be targeted by shareholders in legal battle September 3, 2012 FORMER RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin could be sued personally by a shareholder activist group if campaigners successfully raise enough money to launch their suit, it emerged yesterday. The RBoS Shareholders Action Group plans to begin legal proceedings in the next month, accusing RBS and several key bosses at the bank of misleading them about [...]
Michael Gove promises to push ahead with abolition of GCSEs September 3, 2012 MICHAEL Gove yesterday confirmed plans to replace GCSEs – the standard exam for 16-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – with a more rigorous qualification based on the old O-level tests by the autumn of 2014. The education secretary also said he would phase out modular assessment of students in the aftermath of this year’s [...]
Maverick German economist dies September 3, 2012 Norbert Walter, Germany’s best-known economic analyst and a maverick free-marketeer who consistently opposed excessive state intervention in the economy, died yesterday at the age of 67. Walter made his name as Deutsche Bank’s chief economist between 1990 and 2009, and solidified his reputation by correctly predicting the harshness of the German contraction due to the [...]
Green Party elects new leader September 3, 2012 The Green Party of England and Wales yesterday elected former Guardian journalist Natalie Bennett to be its new leader. Born in Australia, she took 42 per cent of the vote on a 3,111 turnout and has pledged to increase the number of Green MEPs from two to six at the next election. Bennett replaces Caroline [...]
Aussie explorer Lochard hunts for a new buyer September 3, 2012 OIL and gas explorer Lochard Energy is putting itself up for sale. The exploration firm, which has a 10 per cent interest in the Athena field in the North Sea, last year tried to farm out two other discoveries, but offers fell short. Australia-based Lochard, which is listed on junior stock market Aim, said: “Following [...]
Violence hits more SA mines September 3, 2012 VIOLENCE erupted at a second South African gold mine yesterday, as around 50 Lonmin miners were freed after murder charges against them were dropped. Fierce clashes erupted at the Modder East near Johannesburg yesterday morning after around 60 ex-workers, who were dismissed after an illegal strike in June, protested at the entrance to the mine. [...]
