Labour issues must be resolved swiftly for the sake of all sides August 19, 2012 THE tragic events at the Marikana mine have yet to have a significant impact on world platinum production, so while the violence brings global attention, focus should remain where it belongs, on the investigation of the shootings and the resolution of the labour dispute. There was a five per cent rally in the white metal’s [...]
Samsung and Apple prepare for trial D-day August 19, 2012 APPLE and Samsung are this week due to find out the result of the US patent infringement trial that could have significant implications for the two tech giants and the wider mobile phone industry, after the two firms failed to carve out a deal at the weekend. The California jury will now decide the result [...]
Netflix CEO vows to take on Sky in bids for premium film rights August 19, 2012 NETFLIX will attempt to wrestle Sky’s grip on premium movie rights away from it, a move that could provide a serious challenge to the broadcaster’s film dominance. Reed Hastings, the chief executive of the US film streaming service, has outlined his intentions to bid for exclusive rights to films from the six leading Hollywood studios, [...]
ChainTek becomes latest firm to join AIM after it raises £7.5m August 19, 2012 CHINESE logistics group ChainTek joins the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) this morning after a £7.5m fundraising, in a sign of resilience in London’s junior stock exchange. Joint brokers Liberum Capital and ZAI Corporate Finance placed almost 5m new shares, giving the firm a market capitalisation of around £87.5m. ChainTek aims to use the proceeds to [...]
As Europe’s troubles continue, it’s Asian stocks that lag behind August 19, 2012 ASIA is enjoying a soft landing. So why is the Asian fund manager’s Mai Tai more sour than sweet this summer? The inflation dragon singed China stocks in 2010 when the market fell 15 per cent and again in 2011 when stocks tanked 20 per cent. That beast has been tamed as CPI, above six [...]
Diageo readies $3bn purchase of Jose Cuervo August 19, 2012 DIAGEO’S long-awaited $3bn (£1.9bn) takeover of Mexican tequila firm Jose Cuervo could be announced this week when the drinks giant reports its annual earnings on Thursday. The deal, which has been in the works for over a year, would add the world’s most popular tequila to Diageo’s brands, which include Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff. [...]
Pernod Ricard chairman Patrick Ricard dies after 45 years at firm August 19, 2012 PATRICK RICARD, the chairman of drinks company Pernod Ricard, has died aged 67 after spending his entire career at the drinks firm. The company yesterday announced that Ricard, the son of the firm’s founder Paul Ricard, had passed away on Friday. He joined the company in 1967 and had served as chairman since 1978. He [...]
Heineken grabs majority stake in Tiger beer after raising offer August 19, 2012 HEINEKEN is set to take control of the maker of Tiger beer after Singaporean drinks firm Fraser and Neave agreed to sell its stake for a total of 5.4bn Singapore dollars (£2.7bn) this weekend. Fraser and Neave accepted an improved offer for its 40 per cent share of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), which makes a [...]
Get ready: the Paralympics are almost here August 19, 2012 LONDON has seemed a duller place since the Olympics came to an end. No chance of bumping into an Olympic medallist on your tube journey, and far fewer maroon shirt bedecked volunteers around to share a smile with. But it’s now just over a week until it all begins again – with a whole 11 [...]
Inflation’s long squeeze on UK finances eases August 19, 2012 HOUSEHOLDS’ inflation expectations fell to a six-month low in August as the squeeze on finances eased to its lowest level in almost two years, according to a report out today from Markit. The decline in finances almost came to a halt in the private sector, recording a score of 47.2. On Markit’s index a reading [...]
