Expect no surprises on league’s final day May 8, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON AND BILL ESDAILE WITH THE WEEKEND’S TOP WAGERS HAVING gone from top gear to reverse in just over a week, Liverpool have been overtaken by Manchester City in the title race, and they look to have no chance of catching Manuel Pellegrini’s men. Only a West Ham win at the Etihad will let [...]
Blithe Spirit the bet of the day at Chester May 8, 2014 CHESTER really is a marmite track for punters – you either love it or hate it. Often jokingly referred to as a greyhound track, the tight turns mean it’s almost impossible for horses drawn wide or who miss the break to gain a prominent position. The riders in the 3.15pm today won’t have so many [...]
I’ll face down critics says Pfizer’s boss May 7, 2014 THE BOSS of American drug giant Pfizer will jet into London next week for a crunch showdown with MPs over his plan to take control of UK drug giant Astrazeneca. Ian Read, the Scottish boss of Viagra maker Pfizer, will face off against backbench MPs on Tuesday and Wednesday next week to try and soothe [...]
China now has five of the world’s 10 biggest companies May 7, 2014 THREE Chinese behemoths top this year’s list of the world’s biggest public firms, while no European companies remain in the top ten, a dramatic signal of a changing world economy. The top spots are taken by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank. The country is [...]
Shareholders revolt over pay at Reckitt and Ocado May 7, 2014 OCADO and Reckitt Benckiser have become the latest companies to suffer an investor backlash over pay for the most senior staff. About 20 per cent of investors in the online grocer voted against the remuneration report while 13 per cent opposed Ocado’s pay policy. A person familiar with the situation said Ocado’s board had consulted [...]
An open letter to protectionists in all the political parties May 7, 2014 Dear protectionists I fear that you haven’t fully thought through your opposition to Pfizer’s bid for Astrazeneca. So here are a few questions for you; sorry in advance for being blunt. Why do you think you have a special, superior knowledge about which companies should be protected and encouraged, and which shouldn’t be? Do you [...]
Yellen signals an end to stimulus by this autumn May 7, 2014 FEDERAL Reserve chair Janet Yellen confirmed yesterday that a continuing US recovery would mean an end to the country’s quantitative easing (QE) programme this autumn. Though the Fed appears to be committed to trimming QE purchases by $10bn (£5.9bn) each month, the central bank has previously been reluctant to lay down an official timeline for [...]
Merged coffee colossuses aim to lead market May 7, 2014 MONDELEZ International and DE Master Blenders 1753 are set to merge their coffee businesses, with DE’s parent company in control, bringing the world’s second and third largest coffee firms together. Mondelez said that the new venture would be the “world’s leading pure-play coffee company,” a veiled nod towards Nestle, the market’s largest force by sales. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 08 May 2014 May 7, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Former chancellors slam Help to Buy Three former chancellors of the exchequer have urged George Osborne to rethink his Help to Buy programme, with the OECD also calling on the government to scale back the mortgage support scheme. Lord Lawson, Lord Lamont and Alistair Darling – all predecessors of Osborne at the Treasury [...]
Myners: Co-op insiders must accept change May 7, 2014 THE CO-OP Group’s directors need to be swept out and replaced with experienced business people if the group is to begin to turn itself around, Lord Myners said in a strongly worded report published yesterday. But the peer fears that only Co-op insiders will get a vote on shaking up governance at this month’s annual [...]
