Should the UK hold a referendum on staying in the European Union? October 4, 2011 At the Tory Party conference yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron appeared to completely dismiss the idea of an in-out referendum on the UK’s role in the European Union. Cameron said: “I don’t think most people in the country want that choice between in or out.” But what do you think? This week our readers’ panel, in [...]
Pub landlady hits winner in football case October 4, 2011 A PUB landlady from Portsmouth yesterday won her legal bid to screen cheap foreign coverage of football matches, in a giant-killing feat to rival Wimbledon’s 1988 FA Cup final win over Liverpool. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Karen Murphy should be allowed to use a Greek decoder to screen football matches. Murphy [...]
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE ECJ RULING? October 4, 2011 ALAN GYERTSON | ALPHA BANK “I don’t think it is right, but I am hoping that this will shake a few things up and maybe get rid of Sky’s choke hold.” CHRIS WEBBER | FAEGRE & BENSON “Yes, it is brilliant. Sky has always been in control; it has opened a new market for people [...]
Essar looks to $750m listing October 4, 2011 INDIAN industrial giant Essar is set to raise about $750m (£485m) by floating its infrastructure assets on the London stock exchange next year. The Mumbai conglomerate is believed to have hired JP Morgan and Credit Suisse to advise on the initial public offering (IPO), which would provide foreign cash to boost its expansion plans. The [...]
SIR FRED GOODWIN SAGA RUNS AND RUNS October 4, 2011 JUST when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin, The Capitalist hears the former RBS CEO was once snubbed in favour of a company that had recently given half of Glasgow diarrhoea. The story starts in 2003, when BBC Scotland’s head of news Atholl Duncan, needing a change of [...]
Profits return yet Wolseley still cautious October 4, 2011 WOLSELEY, the world’s biggest distributor of plumbing and heating products, swung back into profit for the first time in three years after increasing sales and cutting down on costs. The FTSE 100 group, which operates the Plumb Centre and Ferguson chains in Britain and the US, said underlying profit in the year to the end [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE WOLSELEY’S RESULTS ON TRACK? October 4, 2011 CHARLIE CAMPBELL | LIBERUM CAPITAL Sales growth in August and September was in line with Q4 and while the statement is somewhat cautious, this is general rather than specific. Ferguson’s like-for-likes have turned strongly positive and is clearly outperforming the market. We find the results reassuring and confirm our positive investment case. CHRIS ALEXANDER | [...]
Insurers given deadline delay October 4, 2011 UK insurance companies were yesterday granted more time to change their internal structure ahead of the start of new Solvency II regulation in 2014. The Financial Services Authority pushed back the deadline for insurers to seek its approval for their proposed new internal models from May 2012 to mid-2013. Its decision comes after European regulators [...]
EU objects to NYSE merger October 4, 2011 EUROPEAN regulators will today file a list of formal objections to the blockbuster $10.2bn (£6.6bn) merger of the NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse stock exchanges, perhaps forcing the parties to offer concessions to get the deal approved. The European Commission is concerned that the merger, which would create the biggest stock exchange in the world, [...]
Euro Car Parts sold to US rival LKQ for £280m October 4, 2011 SUKHPAL Singh Ahluwalia was just 18 when he spotted the chance to buy a car parts shop in North London that had gone into bankruptcy for £5,000. The Wembley-based entrepreneur is now set to pocket up to £280m after agreeing to sell his business Euro Car Parts to US rival LKQ Corporation. Singh, hailed as [...]
