Manufacturing growth stalls September 1, 2010 GROWTH in the country’s manufacturing sector slowed more than expected last month, led by the weakest expansion in new orders for more than a year, a purchasing managers’ survey showed. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.3 in August – from a downwardly revised 56.9 in July. That was the [...]
Vivendi ups forecast as profit rises September 1, 2010 MEDIA giant Vivendi has raised its forecast for 2010 after reporting a four per cent rise in first-half profit. Vivendi saw a net profit of 1.53bn euros (£1.26bn) in the first six months of the year, up from the 1.47bn euros it made a year ago. But the comnow expects 2010 profit to exceed the [...]
China considers probe into BHP Billiton’s bid for Potash Corp September 1, 2010 China may launch an antimonopoly probe into BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£25bn) bid for Canada’s Potash Corp, the China Business News has claimed. China will also review the merger of two Russian potash firms – Uralkali and Silvinit – given the major impact the two deals would have on China, the paper cited the unnamed source [...]
BP to sell Malaysian interests for £236m September 1, 2010 BP is to sell its ethylene and polyethylene operations in Malaysia to Petronas for $363m (£236m) in cash, continuing a disposal programme as a result of the huge financial cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil giant said that it would sell its 15 per cent stake in Ethylene Malaysia (EMSB) and [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown sees profit surge in record year September 1, 2010 BROKER Hargreaves Lansdown has seen pre-tax profit up 18 per cent while assets under management also surged. The company’s figures, covering the year to the end of June, showed growth in every category as it emerged strongly from the recession. Pre-tax profit was £86.3m while total assets under administration rose by 47 per cent to [...]
Game up for Tomkins as buyers target UK August 31, 2010 ONE of the City’s largest investors warned foreign predators not to view UK companies as easy pickings yesterday after Tomkins became the latest name to fall to an overseas bid. Standard Life Investments (SLI) made an angry intervention after shareholders in Tomkins, the former “buns-to-guns” group, voted to accept a £2.9bn offer from a consortium [...]
Fed warns of sluggishness August 31, 2010 US POLICYMAKERS warned of increasing risks to economic growth in the minutes of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting released yesterday. “The softer tone of incoming economic data suggested that the pace of the expansion would be slower over the near term than previously projected,” the minutes said. The Fed decided to reinvest the [...]
David Miliband: The least bad option August 31, 2010 ONE of the stories of the summer has been just how far the Labour party is moving to the left, as its leadership candidates appeal to grassroot members and trade unionists angry at the perceived betrayals of the Blair years. With the coalition’s honeymoon long since over, and the Lib Dems’ popularity in freefall, who [...]
Potash:BHP was unethical August 31, 2010 POTASH said yesterday its suitor BHP Billiton has been “inappropriate and highly unethical” by cold-calling many of its customers while embroiled in a hostile takeover deal. BHP, the Anglo-Australian mining giant, earlier this month launched a $38.6bn (£24.1bn) hostile takeover bid for Potash Corp, the world’s largest fertiliser company. Potash said in a letter to [...]
US lending drops but profit up August 31, 2010 US banking showed signs of improvement in the last quarter, as firms posted their biggest profit in almost three years despite a fall in lending and a jump in the number of at-risk institutions. The $21.6bn gain in the three months to 30 June was aided by lenders covering fewer expected loan losses, said the [...]
