… As chipmaker ARM plays down bid interest June 10, 2010 Shares in chipmaker ARM jumped 32 per cent to an eight-year high yesterday amid fresh rumours of bid interest from its customer Apple. A spokeswoman for ARM said the chip designer had not received an approach, and said a takeover from Apple is unlikely. ARM has benefited from the launch of the new iPhone and [...]
Microsoft in $1.25bn note issue June 10, 2010 Microsoft plans to raise up to $1.25bn (£850m) by offering three- year convertible senior notes to institutional investors. The tech firm said each note can be converted into 29.9 shares of common stock. The zero coupon convertible notes, which will mature in 2013, will not bear interest and the principal amount will not accrete, the [...]
HOME (PAGE) BURGLARY? June 10, 2010 GOOGLE has come under fire for the images it introduced behind its iconic search page this week. The tech firm has been the subject of ribbing from Microsoft executives who claim it has stolen the idea from its rival Bing! search engine. The pictures will change, and those with personalised accounts can customise the page [...]
US watchdog panel slams AIG bailout June 10, 2010 A REPORT by the Congressional Oversight Panel, set up by lawmakers to monitor the $700bn (£476bn) bailout fund, blasted the government’s $182bn bailout of insurance giant AIG for its continued “poisonous effect” on financial markets and said it’s still unclear whether taxpayers ever will be fully repaid. “For now, the ultimate cost or profit to [...]
Glaxo in $250m Argentine buy June 10, 2010 BRITISH drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline stepped up its drive into emerging markets with the acquisition of Argentina’s Laboratorios Phoenix for $253m (£172.4m) yesterday. The latest in a string of deals in developing markets gives Glaxo a portfolio of branded generics covering therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, gastroenterology, metabolic and urology. Phoenix also brings Glaxo a factory near [...]
Begbies Traynor acquires insolvency firm Tomlinsons June 10, 2010 SHARES in Begbies Traynor fell yesterday after the corporate restructuring specialist said it would buy Tomlinsons, an unlisted insolvencies practitioner, for an undisclosed sum. Tomlinsons has 13 staff in offices in Manchester and Blackburn. Begbies Traynor will absorb the smaller company into its existing insolvency practice to bolster its presence in the north west. Alan [...]
Jo’burg exchange buoyed by World Cup June 10, 2010 WORLD Cup fever is translating into investor optimism in the host nation of South Africa, according to the FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index. The Johannesburg stock exchange grew by 11.5 per cent in May, topping the index for the second consecutive month. The second best-performing exchange was NYSE Euronext, which rose 10.2 per cent over [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 10, 2010 MISYS Morgan Stanley raises its price target for Misys to 300p with an “overweight” rating saying the announcement of the share placing by Allscripts crystallises the value of healthcare. Morgan Stanley said it expects the positive stock reaction to continue. Misys estimates $1.35bn in proceeds from the share placing. ESSAR ENERGY JP Morgan Cazenove initiates [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 10, 2010 Coutts Private Office The private bank has appointed Stephen Eggins as a senior client partner based in London, responsible for looking after ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients. Eggins has over 20 years of experience in financial services and joins from Credit Suisse, where he also advised UHNW individuals. Prior to that, he worked at US [...]
Soda queen takes on Goliath June 10, 2010 LAUNCHING a cola and taking on one of the best-known brands in the world doesn’t sound like it would be a success – not even Sir Richard Branson could topple Coke with Virgin Cola. But Miranda Walker, the co-founder of the Ubuntu Trading Company, was not deterred. She launched Ubuntu, a cola drink, in September [...]
