UK hedge funds crack elite list of performers January 7, 2013 TWO of the UK’s biggest hedge funds have rolled back the US dominance of the industry to creep into the top five best performing hedge funds in the world, a poll shows. Funds run by CQS, led by founder Michael Hintze, and Odey Asset Management, Crispin Odey’s Mayfair based outfit, have both cracked the top [...]
Rolls-Royce is hit by claims of bribery in China engine deals January 7, 2013 ROLLS-ROYCE has been accused of bribing two airlines in China, as more details emerge about a corruption investigation centred on the FTSE 100 firm’s overseas arms. The engineering giant said in December that it had handed information to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), after an internal probe uncovered “matters of concern” in Indonesia and China. [...]
France to spend €2bn on jobs January 7, 2013 France will reallocate €2bn (£1.6bn) from its 2013 budget to state-aided job creation as part of efforts to stem unemployment, French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac said yesterday. With joblessness at a 13-year high of 10.3 per cent, President Francois Hollande has promised to turn things around this year and hopes that plans to create thousands [...]
Roche drops bids for Illumina January 7, 2013 Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche is no longer considering a bid for US gene-sequencing company Illumina, chairman Franz Humer was quoted as saying yesterday. “Illumina is definitely off the table. They were not willing to abandon the totally unrealistic price they were asking for. Roche does not do acquisitions that don’t create value,” he told Swiss [...]
Centamin gold export allowed January 7, 2013 Egypt has allowed Centamin to export a shipment of gold after blocking it for several weeks because it did not have the proper permits, a customs official said yesterday. Centamin has been plagued by difficulties in Egypt over the last three months, with a court questioning its right to produce gold at its only mine, [...]
Centrica to lose British Gas boss in new strategy January 7, 2013 CENTRICA is preparing to replace Phil Bentley as managing director of British Gas as the energy giant lays out a change in strategy. He is expected to leave his post in the coming months, though no successor has been picked. Bentley, who has spent 13 years at the firm, is believed to have clashed with [...]
HMRC maintains its pressure on tax evaders with offshore assets January 7, 2013 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) made 640 requests to overseas governments for information on individuals’ tax affairs during the last financial year, according to figures released today. Australia was by far the most targeted country, with 96 requests made by HMRC for information on individuals associated with the country. Spain (49 requests) and Ireland (38 [...]
Rail minister commutes in chauffeured car January 7, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT minister responsible for setting rail fares will continue to use a chauffeur-driven car to commute into London from his Essex home, the Department for Transport insisted yesterday. The department was forced to make the statement after it emerged that Simon Burns, the minister who has ultimate responsibility for fare policy, has been using [...]
Battersea Power Station’s first 800 Circus West flats go on sale January 7, 2013 THE FIRST 800 townhouses, flats and penthouses at Battersea Power Station will go on sale to the public this Thursday as building of the £8bn scheme gets underway later this year. The Malaysian developers behind the site, which has lain derelict for over 30 years, will say this week that the first phase of the [...]
Fallon’s threat to expose FTSE late payments January 7, 2013 BUSINESS minister Michael Fallon is set to name and shame FTSE chief executives who fail to sign their firms up to a prompt payment code designed to help small businesses get paid on time. Fallon wrote to every company in the FTSE 350 in November telling them that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills [...]
