FSA calamity piles pressure on Prudential May 5, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S audacious takeover of AIA in Asia is teetering on the brink after the City watchdog blocked the insurer’s plan to raise $21bn (£14bn) through a bumper rights issue. The FTSE 100 company was humiliatingly forced to delay the publication of its cash call prospectus yesterday following a veto from the Financial Services Authority, which [...]
The man from the Pru blunders again May 5, 2010 ONE error – letting the news of the largest rights issue attempted in the UK so it can pay £23bn for the Asian business of American Insurance Group leak out before it could talk institutional investors around – could be considered careless. A second – group chief executive Tidjane Thiam planning to join the board [...]
French foray for Compass May 5, 2010 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, bought French food service business Caterine Restauration for an undisclosed sum yesterday. The French caterer, which specialises in the provision of services in the education and healthcare sectors, posted revenues of €41.8m (£35.8m) for the 12 months to 31 August 2009 with gross assets valued at €34m (£29m). Compass [...]
Panel slams Bear Stearns risk taking May 5, 2010 THE former chairman and chief executive of Bear Stearns conceded yesterday that the failed investment bank had taken on too much risk. “That was the business. That was, really, industry practice. In retrospect, in hindsight, I would say leverage was too high,” a weary-sounding James Cayne told a nine-hour hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry [...]
SocGen tops forecasts on turnaround May 5, 2010 FRENCH bank Societe Generale yesterday beat forecasts for first-quarter profit, helped by investment banking, and predicted a lasting rebound in 2010. Societe Generale also said its exposure to Greek sovereign debt was €3bn (£2.6bn), a day after its share price fell to a two-month low amid market turmoil over Greece. “Societe Generale is confident of [...]
M&S finance boss quits for Punch Taverns May 5, 2010 MARKS & Spencer’s incoming chief executive Mark Bolland received an unwanted welcome gift after his first day at the firm – the resignation of its finance director. Ian Dyson yesterday made the shock announcement that he will leave the firm to become chief executive of Punch Taverns, the UK’s biggest pub chain. Dyson was passed [...]
US firms are hiring again May 5, 2010 THE painful process of cutting jobs has run its course and private sector firms in the US are hiring staff once again, according to the ADP employer services survey yesterday, raising hopes that tomorrow’s key non-farm payrolls data will show a substantial boost to US employment. The ADP survey showed that US businesses added 32,000 [...]
Construction activity booms but unemployment still rising May 5, 2010 THERE was some good news for the UK construction sector yesterday after the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index showed that activity expanded for the second successive month. The leading indicator showed a sharp jump to 58.2 in April from 53.1 the previous month, well above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. The expansion was [...]
Strong services data suggests broadening Eurozone recovery May 5, 2010 BUSINESS activity in the Eurozone accelerated in April to a 30-month high, according to Markit’s services purchasing managers’ index. All 16 member states reported growth of activity in their service sectors last month, with France heading the pack. The forward-looking elements of the survey were also upbeat, indicating good prospects for services activity in the [...]
EUROZONE CONSUMERS RELUCTANT TO SPEND May 5, 2010 CONSUMERS in the 16-country Eurozone are still reluctant to spend, according to the latest retail sales data. Eurostat figures showed that sales volumes in March were disappointingly flat on the month, raising concerns that poor consumer spending will hold back the recovery in the single-currency area over the coming months and will dampen its growth [...]
