Potash rejects $39bn BHP Billiton bid August 17, 2010 THE world’s largest fertiliser producer Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has rejected a $39bn (£24.9bn) takeover approach from mining giant BHP Billiton. Canada-based PotashCorp said BHP offered US$130 a share in cash – equivalent to a 20 per cent premium on the company’s share price on 11 August. However, Canadian Potash dismissed the proposal as “grossly [...]
Asda sales dip as shoppers hit in the pocket August 17, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Asda said yesterday shoppers were being hit in the pocket by government cuts as like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 0.4 per cent in the second quarter. The chain said its market share had reduced in the 12 weeks to 11 July as total sales crept up “in the low single digits”. Chief executive [...]
High Speed 1 bid group expands August 17, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs and Groupe Eurotunnel have expanded their bidding group for Britain’s only high-speed rail line, a consortium spokesman said as first-round bids were due for the £1.5bn route. The British government is selling “High Speed 1,” which has a 30-year concession to run a 110-kilometre (70 mile) railway linking London and the Channel Tunnel, [...]
Inflation falls to 3.1pc August 17, 2010 INFLATION has fallen from 3.2 per cent in June to 3.1 per cent last month, official figures have shown. But the CPI rate is still above the government’s target of two per cent and so Bank of England governor Mervyn King will once again be obliged to write a letter of explanation. Meanwhile the figure [...]
Resolution posts profit and eyes new acquisitions August 17, 2010 Insurance buyout vehicle Resolution said on it would hunt out further acquisitions in a consolidating sector, as it posted an interim profit compared to a loss a year earlier. Resolution made an operating profit before tax of £203m for the six months ending June, compared to a loss of £7m a year earlier. Its earnings [...]
Rok pre-tax profit dives by 50pc August 17, 2010 BUILDING repairs and maintenance firm Rok said first-half pre-tax profit was down 50 per cent, after it warned last week earnings would be hit by accounting problems and suspended its chief financial officer. Rok, which on August said on 11 August it found “serious failings” in its plumbing, heating and electrical (PHE) business, said revenues [...]
Gartmore sees client funds plunge August 17, 2010 FUND manager Gartmore has seen its assets under management plunge after the suspension of its star fund manager. The firm, which listed in December and has since seen its share price almost halve, said assets fell nine per cent to £20.3bn at end-July, after £1.9bn of outflows in the first seven months of the year. [...]
China GDP overtakes Japan August 16, 2010 JAPAN’S second-quarter GDP was less than China’s before seasonal adjustments, government data showed, underscoring expectations that China will overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest economy this year. Japan’s second-quarter unadjusted GDP totalled $1.2883 trillion on a nominal dollar basis, against China’s second-quarter unadjusted GDP of $1.3369 trillion, an estimate by Japan’s Cabinet Office showed. But [...]
Eurozone inflation hits 20-month high August 16, 2010 EUROZONE inflation hit a 20-month high last month, official figures have shown. Annual inflation in the 16-nation eurozone rose to 1.7 per cent in July, up from 1.4 per cent in June and the highest rate since November 2008, the European statistics office Eurostat said. The figure rose as fuel costs for transport climbed along [...]
Anglo Irish Bank bailout “affordable” says governor August 16, 2010 IRELAND’S bailout of Anglo Irish Bank which is partly behind the country’s soaring budget deficit, is “costly but manageable,” Ireland’s Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan has said. Honohan, who is also the European Central Bank’s rate setter, reiterated the country’s budget deficit would be around 20 per cent of its annual GDP this year despite [...]
