Asda’s bid for Iceland warms up with Barcap September 25, 2011 ASDA appears to have moved closer to a bid for frozen food chain Iceland by lining up backing from Barclays Capital. It comes after Asda, Britain’s second-largest supermarket, brought on board advisers from Lazard in June to help it put together an offer. Iceland’s current owner, the resolution committee of collapsed bank Landsbanki, needs to [...]
High Street boosts discounts September 25, 2011 HIGH street retailers stepped up the battle to win over cash-strapped shoppers this weekend by slashing prices and launching promotions, days after Britain’s supermarkets announced fresh price cutting campaigns. Top fashion retailers including Next and Gap launched a two day “flash sale” over the weekend, with items discounted at 50 and 30 per cent respectively [...]
Novartis ready to shed jobs to keep costs low September 25, 2011 SWISS drugmaker Novartis will make sweeping job cuts at sites across the world in a bid to keep a cap on costs, according to sources in its home country. Like many pharmaceutical companies, Novartis is starting to face generic competition, with its breast cancer drug Femara and its blood pressure medicine Diovan losing patent protection. [...]
GERALD RONSON’S COLOURFUL NEW TENANTS ARRIVE AT HERON TOWER September 25, 2011 NOT content with winning City A.M.’s award for Personality of the Year, real estate tycoon Gerald Ronson has gained another title – owner of Britain’s largest privately held aquarium. The larger-than-life character has been putting the finishing touches to the colourful marine addition at Bishopgate’s 230m high Heron Tower. Ronson is of course not one [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK September 25, 2011 WHEN ten City boys ventured all the way to Knightsbridge to chew the fat, so to speak, at the Brompton Bar & Grill, they needed to make sure they had adequate sustenance to make the arduous journey back again. Settling in for a long lunch in the bistro’s private dining room they whetted their appetites [...]
NBNK to bid on reduced Lloyds assets September 25, 2011 NBNK is prepping its formal bid for 632 Lloyds branches and a reduced package of assets to cut down the branches’ £20bn funding gap. In a supplementary move, the buy-out vehicle chaired by Lord Levene and led by Gary Hoffman could also make a bid for Northern Rock so as to shave some £6bn off [...]
LDC private equity unit sees its pay costs double September 25, 2011 PAY has doubled at Lloyds’ private equity division, Lloyds TSB Development Capital (LDC), its accounts show. The total cost of compensation for its 89 staff rose from £15m in 2009 to £32.7m last year, while directors’ shared £5m last year, up from £2.3m the year before. The highest paid director saw compensation rise from £606,000 [...]
State Farm pays out $5bn in storm claims September 25, 2011 STATE Farm Insurance has paid $5bn (£3.23bn) to its customers for weather-related catastrophes – damage to cars, homes and other property so far this year – the largest US insurer of homes and cars said yesterday. That payout has been increased by wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes during the summer, which came after last spring’s [...]
Eurozone leaders carry on muddling through September 25, 2011 AS the weeks go by, the chances of a Greek default are getting higher. The vast majority of guests on my CNBC show agree: something has to give. The sovereign debt crisis is here to stay, and there will be many more conference calls to come. So what are the various potential outcomes? And how [...]
Electric car sales sluggish September 25, 2011 Electric car sales remain sluggish, despite government incentives to encourage their uptake, according to new research from automotive intelligence firm JATO Dynamics. Just 599 electric vehicles were registered in the UK in the first half, with road-users unconvinced by subsidies amounting to around €6,400 (£5473) over the typical five-year life of a vehicle. However, sales [...]
