Shire rebuffed over £12bn move for its listed Swiss rival Actelion June 7, 2015 ADHD drug-maker Shire is looking at a £12.4bn takeover of Europe’s biggest biotech company Actelion – just months after completing another $5bn (£3.3bn) acquisition. The Irish-headquartered firm, which is led by chief executive Flemming Ornskov, approached the listed Swiss company with a proposal for a full-blown takeover but was turned down, despite offering a [...]
Tory MP Steve Baker tells City workers to back Eurosceptic campaign June 7, 2015 A leading Eurosceptic MP is urging City workers to put their names to a campaign pushing for radical reforms of Britain’s relationship with Brussels. Steve Baker, the Conservative MP for Wycombe who yesterday said that he would lead a new anti-EU group called Conservatives for Britain, told City A.M. that British businesses should be sceptical [...]
Fastest jump in British spending since early 2008 June 7, 2015 CONSUMER spending accelerated in May as shoppers splashed out on hotels, restaurants and bars. Spending climbed 2.6 per cent in May compared to the same month last year, according to figures released today by card giant Visa. The last three months have seen the strongest three-month average increase in expenditure since January 2008. Spending on [...]
Legal and General calls for an end to quarterly financial report June 7, 2015 The UK’S biggest asset manager has written to the UK’s biggest 350 listed companies, urging them to ditch quarterly financial reports. Reporting which focuses on short-term performance is not necessary to building a sustainable business as it may steer management to focus more on short-term goals and away from future business drivers, Legal and General [...]
Figures reveal more UK firms turning to shadow banking June 7, 2015 NON-BANK lenders recorded 50 deals in the UK and mainland Europe in the first three months of 2015, financing 33 takeovers. Alternative lending is on the rise in the UK, with 28 of those 50 occurring in Britain, financial services giant Deloitte said today in its Alternative Lender Deal Tracker. These lenders range from larger [...]
London firms’ expansion slows amid broader decline in growth June 7, 2015 London businesses are growing steadily despite the rate of growth slipping to a five-month low in May, new survey figures show. A business activity purchasing managers’ index compiled by Lloyds Bank dropped to a score of 57 for London from April’s 60.2, according to data published today. Scores above 50 indicate an expansion [...]
WWDC 2015: So what is Apple Cooking up now? June 7, 2015 Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference starts today, and it is a must watch for any fan of the brand It might be the shiny new gadgets and the “one last thing” moments that grab all the attention, but in terms of driving Apple forward, it is at the tech giant’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference [...]
Q&A: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference June 7, 2015 WHAT IS WWDC? The conference is a high-profile gathering of people who build the Apple software that powers all its devices. It lasts a few days, but the attention is often on the opening keynote speech. WHO ATTENDS? Developers – the coders who build the apps and other software we all use on Apple devices. [...]
Chinese builder CCECC considering bid for UK’s Balfour Beatty June 7, 2015 British construction group Balfour Beatty is being considered as a potential takeover target by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), despite chief executive Leo Quinn’s commitment to keeping Balfour an independent company. The Chinese state-owned firm is reported to be in talks with the aim of making an offer for the company, which is [...]
Commodity and currency desks lead rapid growth in City hiring as job numbers rise June 7, 2015 City job creation is on the climb thanks to a revival in hiring on banks’ fixed income, commodities and currencies trading desks (Ficc). There were 4,100 new City roles created in May, up 52 per cent on the same month last year, according to figures released today by recruiters Astbury Marsden. It also marks a [...]
