BSkyB loses appeal over ITV stake January 20, 2010 BSkyB has been ordered by a court to sell offload some of its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV. The broadcaster lost its appeal and was told to reduce its stake to below 7.5 per cent. BSkyB bought into the company for £940m in 2006 – effectively blocking cable group NTL from buying ITV. However, [...]
Buffett slams Cadbury deal January 20, 2010 MAJOR Kraft shareholder Warren Buffett has attacked the US company’s £11.7bn proposed takeover of chocolatier Cadbury as a “bad deal”. Buffett, who made a high-profile intervention earlier in the month when he warned Kraft chairman Irene Rosenfeld not to overpay for the British company, said he felt “poorer” as a result of the 850p per [...]
UK about to miss a great opportunity January 20, 2010 THERE are two, diametrically opposed ways to respond to the immense challenges posed by globalisation and the rise of the emerging markets. The first – and right way – is that followed by much of the private sector, especially in London, the most global and open of all the world’s great cities. Everyone with an [...]
Darling pushes for clarity January 20, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling is considering tough new rules forcing companies to disclose sensitive financial information. The move is designed to promote new sources of funding as banks cut lending. The Treasury hopes encouraging greater transparency would make it easier for large and upper-mid sized companies to sell bonds and take out loans. The Treasury may even [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BERLIN PUSHES WEBER FOR TOP JOB AT THE ECB Berlin has stepped up its campaign for Axel Weber, Bundesbank chief, to be elected president of the European Central Bank amid intense negotiations over the appointment of the number two position at the Frankfurt-based institution. German officials told the Financial Times that eurozone nations [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF January 20, 2010 Protection for agency workers The government will fast track tougher protection for two million temporary and agency workers. The move follows years of talks between employers and unions on whether non-contracted staff should be given the same rights as full timers. Many Labour backbenchers support tougher regulations to bring Britain into line with European labour [...]
Private pay is stagnating as public soars January 20, 2010 PRIVATE sector pay is stagnating while public sector workers have received above-inflation pay rises, separate reports revealed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average earnings in the private sector fell by 0.1 per cent in the three months to November from a year earlier. By contrast, pay in the public sector rose by [...]
City job prospects look positive January 20, 2010 NOW is the best time to find a job in London’s financial services industry since 2007, a survey of recruitment staff showed yesterday. Vacancies climbed by 24 per cent to 2,268 vacancies last month, with a further boost expected after the traditional festive slump in recruitment. More than 80 per cent of Human Resources and [...]
JP Morgan leads in RBS Sempra race January 20, 2010 JPMORGAN Chase is in exclusive talks to buy the RBS Sempra commodities joint venture in a deal expected to be worth about $4bn (£2.5bn). JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Australia’s Macquarie had each submitted offers worth nearly $4bn for the RBS Sempra unit by an early January deadline. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank were seen as the [...]
Blackstone to launch a bank January 20, 2010 A NEW retail bank to be backed by US private equity group Blackstone is set to go up against Virgin Money and analyst Sandy Chen’s Walton & Co bank later this year in the race to snap up the assets of Northern Rock, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group. Blackstone has applied to the Financial Services [...]
