Schaeffler bid divides Conti board July 21, 2008 German ball bearings maker Schaeffler yesterday said it was still seeking friendly talks with tyre maker Continental, for which it has launched an unsolicited £9bn takeover bid. But insiders say the Conti board are split over whether or not to engage with the rival firm. Schaeffler reiterated its aim for a stake of 36 per [...]
WTO talks could ease trade crisis July 21, 2008 World Bank president Robert Zoellick yesterday urged trade ministers to push for a breakthrough in this week’s World Trade Organization talks, saying it was “now or never” to reach a deal. Zoellick said progress on agricultural issues in the meeting opening in Geneva today would bolster confidence in a world economy strained by soaring food [...]
BP fight over divi cut July 21, 2008 British oil giant BP has blocked a $1.8bn (£900m) dividend payment due to four Russian billionaire shareholders of its strife-torn joint venture TNK-BP. But while the move was seen in London yesterday as proof that the UK giant was fighting back, the oligarchs claimed that there was no disagreement. They too had voted not to [...]
House prices plunge July 21, 2008 Distressed sellers driving the gloomy housing market down cut average asking prices by a dramatic £4,345 or 1.8 per cent in July, new figures out today show. The 1.8 per cent fall in values this month follows a 1.2 per cent drop in June, as house prices registered their first year-on-year decline since property website [...]
Reprieve for foreign profit taxation plan July 21, 2008 Chancellor Alistair Darling is considering axe-ing unpopular plans to reform the taxation of foreign profits that threatened to drive businesses away to tax havens outside the UK. Since the Treasury set out proposals last year to clamp down on tax avoidance, including introducing UK taxes on foreign profits and passive income, several companies have already [...]
City: FTSE to bounce back July 21, 2008 London’s benchmark equity market could stage a dramatic recovery by the end of this year, according to leading strategists who predict the FTSE 100 will end the year above 6,000. Analysts at brokerages Charles Stanley and Brewin Dolphin expect the FTSE 100 to end the year at 6,800 and 6,200 respectively. The more optimistic forecasts [...]
HBOS suffers rights issue humiliation July 21, 2008 Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort to lose tens of millions of pounds on the deal High street banking group HBOS is today expected to announce that as few as 10 per cent of investors took up its £4bn share offer, making it one of the biggest rights issue failures in corporate history. Shareholders, who were [...]
Padraig deserves his place on the list of all-time greats July 21, 2008 Carnoustie 12 months ago we aw one of the most dramatic and nail-biting finishes in Open Championship history. At Royal Birkdale yesterday, we probably witnessed the best closing nine holes ever to win an Open. Two contrasting ways of winning golf’s greatest prize but one winner in Padraig Harrington – a deserved back-to-back champion. Not [...]
Centurion De Villiers spurred on by Headingley jeers July 21, 2008 AB de Villiers insisted he was motivated by the boos of the home crowd as he batted the tourists into a commanding position in the second Test against England. The South African hero was jeered by the Headingley fans after claiming a slip catch off Andrew Strauss on the opening day, despite clearly spilling it [...]
Ditch the crystal ball and just keep on trading to win July 21, 2008 It’s impossible to call the market’s bottom, so stick to trading its actual moves, says Sandy Jadeja Has the market reached an important low, and are stocks cheap? That’s a crucial question, but given present market conditions, also a tricky one. For several weeks now I have been arguing that the FTSE 100 would need [...]
