Here’s why Pfizer’s boss carries a gold coin everywhere May 13, 2014 The appearance of Pfizer chief executive Ian Read at today's hearings on its proposed takeover of Astrazeneca, took a strange turn of events when conservative MP Brian Binley asked Read about a gold coin he carries everywhere he goes. The coin which attracted Binley's questioning reads on the one side "own it", while the other [...]
Pfizer boss promises to “honour commitments” as MPs question takeover bid May 13, 2014 Senior officials from US drug company Pfizer have been given a grilling by MPs over the proposed to takeover of Astrazeneca. Committee chair Adrian Bailey opened the questioning by asking Pfizer chief executive Ian Read how he felt about his company being called a preying mantis. Read replied that he was proud of the company's [...]
Unions voice opposition over Pfizer deal at committee hearing May 13, 2014 MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills committee have heard a host of objections from trade union representatives to the proposed takeover of Astrazeneca by US drugs giant Pfizer. Tony Burke of the Unite union, which represents roughly a third of Astrazeneca staff, said his members feared the prospect of job losses. Both the representatives [...]
EasyJet sees boom in business travellers as allocated seating pays off May 13, 2014 Budget airline EasyJet has seen its number of business travellers jump by 44 per cent. In the year to 31 March 2014 EasyJet carried 12m business passengers for the first time. The FTSE 100 company attributed its rising popularity among business travellers to the quality of customer service and its system of seating allocation. EasyJet [...]
Asian markets rise after strong finish on Wall Street May 13, 2014 Asian markets are on the rise as investors welcomed a weaker yen and a strong performance on Wall Street, with US equity indexes climbing to record highs. Japanese car maker Nissan enjoyed strong gains after full-year profits jumped 10 per cent beating analysts' estimates and forecast increasing dividends. Mitsubishi Chemical also rose sharply on reports [...]
Darkcoin: The cryptocurrency putting privacy first May 12, 2014 One of the newest cryptocurrencies has been experiencing a surge in recent days. Created on 18 January 2014, Darkcoin has seen its price jump from $1.65 last Thursday to $2.58 today, while its market capitalisation has boomed from less than $7m to more than $11m. This new cryptocurrency has not been been created to lower [...]
Sky Europe: A force to be reckoned with? May 12, 2014 With the news this morning that 21st Century Fox is in early stage talks with BSkyB, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland to create a pan-European satellite TV network analysts have been weighing up what such a move would mean. “If approved the company would be a force to be reckoned with in Europe,” said CCS [...]
Pfizer gives legally binding commitment over R&D jobs May 12, 2014 US drugs giant Pfizer has released the 23 point statement it will present to MPs tomorrow. Pfizer will appear before the Business, Innovation and Skills committee to answer questions about the company's potential takeover of Astrazeneca. Pfizer has restated several commitments it has given to the UK government, including promises to maintain 20 per cent [...]
Brussels committee unveils five-year plan to save the EU May 12, 2014 The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has unveiled its plan to rescue the European Union. The EESC's Action Plan for Europe – Five years to save the Union, is nothing but ambitious in its goals. With just 31 per cent of European citizens saying they have trust in the EU, the EESC certainly has [...]
Network Rail unveils preferred bidders for track renewals May 12, 2014 Network Rail has announced its preferred bidders for conventional track renewals and improvement work for the period 2014-19. Babcock International has won work over three of the seven geographic lots to deliver plain line tracks for Network Rail. The lots are made up of Western, Wales and Wessex; Scotland and LNW South, which are worth [...]
