Heineken’s resolve to buy out APB tested by the Thais August 8, 2012 Heineken’s resolve to buy out Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) is being tested by a group linked to Thailand’s second-richest man as the fight for a bigger slice of the world’s last growing beer markets intensifies. The surprise counter-offer by a company owned by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s son-in-law to acquire Fraser and Neave’s direct stake in APB [...]
Bank of England to pave way for more bond buys August 8, 2012 The Bank of England (BoE) is likely to slash its growth and inflation forecasts for 2012 and beyond today, fuelling expectations of yet more money-printing later this year to boost the struggling economy. Britain is languishing back in recession as government spending cuts, the Eurozone debt crisis, bad weather and one-off factors including an extended [...]
Rio Tinto sticks to spending plans despite profit drop August 8, 2012 Global miner Rio Tinto posted a 34 per cent drop in first-half profit, at the better end of expectations, weighed down by weaker iron ore prices, but said it was sticking to its $16bn (£10.2bn) spending plans for the year. Rio, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, said underlying earnings fell to $5.2bn, at the [...]
Asian shares hit three-month high on hopes for Europe August 8, 2012 Asian shares extended gains to a third straight session today, reaching a three-month high, as investors continued to bet that policymakers will soon take decisive action to address the Eurozone fiscal crisis and declining global growth. Oil and copper eased from their highs but remained underpinned by such hopes, while the euro stabilised and safe-haven [...]
INVESTORS DESERT STAN CHART STOCK August 7, 2012 ALMOST a quarter was wiped from Standard Chartered’s market value yesterday as the global banking giant hit back at US allegations it had schemed with Iran to hide $250bn (£160bn) worth of transactions. Shares in London dived 16.7 per cent after closing down almost 15 per cent in Hong Kong, as investors reacted to claims [...]
Deloitte’s US arm dragged into scandal August 7, 2012 THE US arm of Deloitte yesterday denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with Standard Chartered, after the advisory firm was accused of colluding with its client to conceal billions of dollars in transactions through Iran. “Deloitte Financial Advisory Services performed its role as independent consultant properly and had no knowledge of any alleged misconduct by [...]
Co-op boss Peter Marks to leave the firm in May August 7, 2012 CO-OPERATIVE Group chief executive Peter Marks, who rose from the shop floor to lead the supermarket group, yesterday announced he would retire from the business next May after six years at the helm. Marks, who led a deal in June to buy over 600 bank branches from Lloyds Banking Group, said it was “time to [...]
Most countries are responsible for the crisis – not just the UK August 7, 2012 REMEMBER sub-prime lending? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s absurd backing of mortgages for those who couldn’t afford to pay the money back? The US government’s decision to promote sub-prime lending? The Federal Reserve’s crazy decision to inflate endless bubbles via excessively loose monetary policy during the good times, and its destructive commitment to step in [...]
EMI records loss due to buyouts August 7, 2012 EMI recorded an increase in sales yesterday and narrowed its pre-tax losses to £349m for the year to April as it wrote down the value of that were sold on to Universal and Sony. In an internal email chief executive Roger Faxon said the results showed “an incredibly strong performance against the backdrop of a [...]
S&P cuts Greek outlook further August 7, 2012 RATINGS agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) revised it outlook on Greece to negative last night and said it would need more funds to prevent a default. S&P, which has a CCC rating on Greek sovereign debt, said the change reflected “the possibility of a downgrade” if Greece misses its targets and thus fails to secure [...]
