Miners and banks pin back FTSE July 12, 2012 The FTSE 100 was dragged down by weak commodity stocks and banks in early trading as investors cut their exposure to riskier assets on uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve will launch more stimulus measures. Minutes from last month’s Fed meeting showed the world’s biggest economy would have to worsen further before the central [...]
Premier invests $1bn in Falklands oil exploration July 12, 2012 Oil firm Premier Oil said it was to acquire a stake in an oil development project in the Falkland Islands as part of a $1bn deal with explorer Rockhopper. Premier said it would pay Rockhopper an initial $231m in cash as well as providing around $770m to help build the infrastructure to get oil pumping [...]
Vodafone buys Telstra New Zealand July 12, 2012 Australia’s Telstra will sell its struggling New Zealand operations to British mobile operator Vodafone in a NZ$840m (£432.59m) deal, threatening Telecom New Zealand’s dominance and potentially making it a future takeover target. Under the sale, Vodafone New Zealand said it will acquire TelstraClear’s fixed-line and Internet operations, which hold only 16 per cent of New [...]
Dentsu to buy Aegis for £3.2bn July 12, 2012 Dentsu has agreed to buy British marketing group Aegis for £3.2bn in a bid to combine the Japanese firm’s strong presence in Asia with the British group’s footprint in Europe and digital services. Dentsu said it had agreed to pay 240 pence for each Aegis share, a 48 per cent premium to the closing price [...]
Primark keeps AB Foods on track July 12, 2012 Associated British Foods confirmed that it is on track for substantial growth in full-year adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share after a strong performance from its discount fashion chain Primark boosted year-to-date revenues. The London-based food and retailing group said that revenues rose 11 percent in the 40 weeks to 23 June, or [...]
G4S ROCKED BY OLYMPICS STAFF FIASCO July 11, 2012 WITH just over two weeks until the official Olympic opening ceremony, security firm G4S was last night forced to admit it may not be able to supply the 10,000 staff it has been contracted to deliver for the Games. In a highly embarrassing admission for the firm, which is expected to be charged a penalty [...]
Venture capitalist pledges £75m to Oxford scholarship July 11, 2012 A PROMINENT British venture capitalist and his wife yesterday pledged £75m to help low-income students pay for Oxford University tuition. Cardiff-born Michael Moritz, chairman of Silicon Valley fund Sequoia Capital, has kept up his reputation for investing in promising start-ups by contributing the first £75m to a fund that will provide up to £11,000 per [...]
Protests meet €65bn of extra austerity in Spain July 11, 2012 THOUSANDS of protesting miners clashed with police in Madrid yesterday as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a fresh round of spending cuts and tax rises, designed to shore up the government’s troubled financial position. Meanwhile the government gave more detail on its planned bank bailouts, reassuring investors that loans from the European Stability Mechanism will [...]
Supporters of capitalism must help expose blundering firms July 11, 2012 CORPORATE blunders are like buses: they arrive all at once. The latest involve G4S, which doesn’t know whether it will be able to hire enough guards for the Olympics, forcing the army to step in. The O2 mobile network suffered some outages yesterday. Britvic recalled some of its drinks. All of this follows the Libor [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 11, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CBI chief attacks lack of growth The head of Britain’s biggest employers’ group has strongly criticised the government for the “really disappointing” implementation of its growth plan, asking: “Where are the diggers on the ground?” John Cridland, director-general of the CBI, said members of the government appeared to be “dazzled in the headlights”, [...]
