Greece pays off €750m early but debt talks crawl May 11, 2015 CRUNCH talks between Greece and the rest of the Eurozone’s finance ministers ended without agreement yesterday, yet both sides insisted that progress is being made. The cash-strapped Mediterranean state said it has met today’s deadline for a €750m (£537m) payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, a senior Brussels official admitted that there [...]
Shell wins Arctic drilling battle in US but Seattle starts stall tactics May 11, 2015 ROYAL Dutch Shell has moved closer to a return to drilling for oil in the Arctic this summer, after the US government yesterday granted its approval for the group’s exploration plan. The Arctic is estimated to contain about 20 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas. Shell has not drilled in the [...]
Citi avoids Libor charge but faces forex-rigging settlement May 11, 2015 Giant investment bank Citi will not face prosecution over Libor manipulation from the US Department of Justice, yesterday announcing that the investigation is at an end. However, Citi is expected to be one of at least four banks settling the allegations of foreign exchange manipulation with US regulators this week. The bank has already paid [...]
RBS legal cases delay sale of state’s shares May 11, 2015 THE RE-PRIVATISATION of RBS has been delayed in part by the bank’s impending legal cases, City A.M. understands. Officials at UK Financial Investments have been particularly concerned by the ongoing legal battle between the bank and a range of shareholders, who claim they were misled in the 2008 rights issue. As well as leaving unknown [...]
Easter holidays and rise in emerging market routes boosts Heathrow airport passenger numbers May 11, 2015 Heathrow airport saw passenger numbers rise over the recent Easter getaway period. Last month, the hub had 6.14m passengers pass through it. This is a 1.2 per cent rise over March and April from the same time last year, including the early Easter break. There was also a boost in transfer passengers using the airport, [...]
Whistl’s 2,000 jobs at risk as deliveries end May 11, 2015 Whistl, Britain’s second-largest postal service, has suspended deliveries, putting the jobs of its 2,000 workers at risk. The Dutch-owned company, which was formerly known as TNT Post, has sent home its staff and is reviewing the viability of its loss-making “final mile” service. The move boosted shares in its rival Royal Mail by 3.74 per [...]
Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton reach the Finnish line May 11, 2015 Historic brands Waterford Wedgwood and Royal Doulton (WWRD) have been sold to Finland’s oldest firm six years after both were saved from bankruptcy. Helsinki-based Fiskars, which was founded in 1694, will buy the august brands from US owners KPS Capital for $437m in an all-cash deal (£238m). KPS hired Goldman Sachs earlier this year to [...]
Agnelli family sells Cushman & Wakefield May 11, 2015 ITALY’S Agnelli family has agreed to sell real estate advisory giant Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ in a deal that values the US-based company at $2bn (£1.29bn) . Exor, the investment arm of the Agnelli family, said the deal will create one of the world’s biggest real estate services companies with combined revenues of more [...]
HSS Hire returns to takeover fray after IPO with £11m All Seasons aircon deal May 11, 2015 Tool hire firm HSS Hire, which floated on the stock market earlier this year, yesterday paid £11.3m to buy heating and air conditioning hire firm All Seasons Hire. All Seasons, which will retain its name when it merges into HSS, had previously supplied equipment to HSS’ OneCall division that had put the firm on the [...]
Early Easter hits April retail sales May 11, 2015 RETAIL spending growth dropped in April, after an earlier Easter pulled sales forward into March, according to industry data out today. KPMG and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said like-for-like sales decreased by 2.4 per cent compared with April last year, when they had increased 4.2 per cent. Total retail sales fell 1.3 per cent [...]
