EUROZONE INFLATION PICKS UP March 14, 2012 INFLATION in the Eurozone rose from 2.4 per cent in the year to February 2011 to 2.7 per cent a year later, Eurostat figures showed yesterday. Price rises accelerated in France, from 1.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent, Italy, from 2.1 per cent to 3.4 per cent, and Germany from 2.2 per cent to [...]
£570m offer puts GlobeOp fight in a spin March 14, 2012 THE TAKEOVER battle for hedge fund administrator GlobeOp was on a knife-edge last night after SS&C Technologies trumped a rival offer from private equity firm TPG Capital. American financial software firm SS&C’s 485p-a-share cash deal, valuing GlobeOp at £572m, has won backing from the independent directors after beating the 435p cash offer TPG had agreed [...]
Bain bites back against critics March 14, 2012 BAIN Capital, the private equity house co-founded by Mitt Romney, has moved to defend its record of investments after months of being criticised as a “corporate raider”. The firm wrote to investors after Romney’s former position at the helm took on a high-profile role in the race for the Republican nomination for US president. Bain said it [...]
Rusal chairman could now sue March 14, 2012 RUSSIAN billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is considering suing Rusal over accusations that he failed to fulfil his duties as its chairman, intensifying a battle with rival oligarch Oleg Deripaska at the world’s largest aluminium producer. The two billionaires have been fighting over Deripaska’s ambition of merging the firm with Norilsk Nickel. Vekselberg quit as chairman on [...]
SANTORUM WINS KEY PRIMARIES March 14, 2012 US REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Rick Santorum won critical primaries in Mississippi and Alabama in the early hours yesterday, narrowly defeating Newt Gingrich and front-runner Mitt Romney. Santorum’s wins put pressure on Gingrich to withdraw from the race, although he has pledged to continue campaigning until the Republican convention in August. Despite Santorum’s wins in the [...]
E.ON upbeat despite €2bn annual losses March 14, 2012 GERMAN energy group E.ON yesterday cut its dividend as it posted a net loss of €2.2bn (£1.8bn) for the year, its first ever full-year loss. The firm blamed the abrupt shutdown of nuclear plants in Germany and the lower price of wholesale gas for the loss, which came despite a 22 per cent rise in [...]
UK Coal warns Britain’s biggest mine could be closed by 2014 March 14, 2012 UK COAL shares lost a quarter of their value yesterday after it revealed it could close the largest coal-producing mine in Britain, the underperforming Daw Mill mine, by early 2014. UK Coal said it had suspended developments at Daw Mill beyond the end of 2013 due to low productivity, but retains the option to re-open [...]
CATHAY EARNINGS HAMMERED BY FUEL COSTS March 14, 2012 HONG KONG’S Cathay Pacific airline posted a 61 per cent drop in net profits yesterday, blaming rising fuel prices and a decrease in cargo shipments. The airline made HK$5.5bn (£450m) in 2011, down from HK$14bn in 2010. The airline, one of the world’s largest cargo carriers, reported an 8.6 per cent drop in its freight [...]
Yule Catto doubles its profits March 14, 2012 British chemicals maker Yule Catto’s acquisition of German peer PolymerLatex helped it to double its 2011 profit, despite several years of low growth in western economies that contribute to a majority of its revenue. Yule Catto, whose chemicals are used by the adhesive, textile, paper, and pharmaceutical businesses, yesterday reported an underlying pre-tax profit of [...]
Ferrexpo gains on new markets March 14, 2012 Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo posted a 37 per cent jump in 2011 pre-tax profit to $801m (£510.8m) yesterday, at the higher end of expectations, thanks to robust prices for the key steelmaking ingredient and an increase in Asian sales that offset softer European demand. The London-listed pellet producer has been reducing its dependence on [...]
