Kraft to pump more cash into Cadbury bid January 5, 2010 KRAFT Foods is planning to improve its £10.1bn hostile takeover bid for Britain’s Cadbury using cash from the sale of its frozen pizza business. The US company has sealed a $3.7bn (£2.3bn) deal with Nestlé and will use the money to offer Cadbury’s shareholders an enhanced offer. It will not up the total sum on [...]
Next raises profit forecasts after sales boost January 5, 2010 NEXT has increased its full-year profit forcecast after reporting an unexpected boost in sales. The fashion retailer’s like-for-like sales grew by 3.2 per cent in the 22 weeks to Christmas Eve. It has now raised its full-year profit forecast to between £490m and £500m – above the previous estimate of £472m. In a statement Next [...]
HMV in pole position for MAMA takeover January 4, 2010 HMV is poised for a successful £46m takeover of MAMA Group after a rival offer hit the buffers. MAMA’s largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based investment firm SMS Finance, made a £38.3m bid for the music venues and festivals firm last month. SMS – the investment vehicle of Italian telecoms billionaire Silvio Scaglia – owns 29.8 per cent [...]
Private pensions system “in crisis” January 4, 2010 THE private pensions system is in crisis with virtually all final salary schemes now closed to new entrants, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). A survey of 309 employers by the ACA showed that 9 out of 10 defined benefit schemes have shut the door on new employees. The data also showed that 91 [...]
Ryanair branded “puerile and childish” over credit card charges January 4, 2010 BUDGET airline Ryanair has been branded “puerile and childish” for using a legal loophole to hit online customers with an extra credit card charge. Office of Fair Trading chief executive John Fingleton attacked the company for the £5 fee charged on all but one credit card. The fee has been added to payments with Electron [...]
BAA in airports victory December 21, 2009 BAA has won its appeal against an order to offload three of its seven UK airports – after the initial decision was ruled to have been subject to “apparent bias”. The Competition Commission ruled in March that the operator must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports. But an appeal tribunal reversed the [...]
National Express back on track December 21, 2009 BELEAGUERED bus and rail operator National Express has claimed to be back on track – reporting a stable fourth quarter with profits set to be in line with forecasts. The company said underlying revenues at its UK bus division had been boosted by 4 per cent thanks to a shake-up in fares and new marketing [...]
Retail sales fall dampens hopes of festive boost December 17, 2009 The Christmas shopping season has got off to a slow start, with retailers reporting a fall in sales volumes in November, dampening hopes of a bumper festive period on the high street. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail sales volumes unexpectedly fell by 0.3 per cent in November. Department stores [...]
Bank of America appoints Moynihan as new chief December 17, 2009 BANK of America has promoted Brian Moynihan to be its new chief executive with the task of nursing the conglomerate back to health. The appointment of Moynihan – who heads the bank’s retail division – follows the retirement of Kenneth Lewis. His promotion comes after the bank posted two quarterly losses in the past year [...]
JJB sales plunge 52% in “difficult” trading December 17, 2009 JJB sports has reported a 52 per cent plunge in sales in the past six months, with the Christmas season failing to reverse its fortunes. The struggling sports retailer has been trying to stage a fight back after it came close to going into administration earlier in the year. But the latest gloomy figures have [...]
