PM accused of U-turn on knife crime July 15, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday people carrying knives would be “caught, prosecuted and punished” as he defended the government’s handling of knife crime following a spate of stabbing deaths. But his message was overshadowed over claims from opposition parties that the government had already backtracked from a “half-baked” policy to force those caught with [...]
St Modwen falls into red July 15, 2008 Commercial and residential property company St Modwen saw the value of its portfolio plunge £65.5m and said the industry was facing its toughest test since 1990. St Modwen lurched into the red, posting a loss of £20m compared to a profit of £65.1m the year before. “We are reporting on what has been the most [...]
InBev finally buys maker of Budweiser July 15, 2008 American brewing giant AnheuserBusch yesterday succumbed to a $52bn (£26bn) takeover bid from InBev, creating the world’s largest brewer and ending a month of acrimony between the two firms. InBev increased its offer for the maker of Budweiser to $70 a share, up from its original bid of $65 a share, marking a premium of [...]
Public Sector must try harder to please consumer July 15, 2008 Public services have been having a bad time recently, with data disks going missing, concerns about MRSA in hospitals and intense dissatisfaction with the move to fortnightly bin collections by many local authorities. It’s hardly surprising then that only one in five people in the UK believe public services are generally well run. Most of [...]
Imperial in fresh £1.2bn bid approach July 15, 2008 Imperial Energy, the Russia-focused oil company, has had a bid approach that could value the business at around £1.2bn. India’s state-controlled ONGC appeared to be the most likely bidder, although Imperial’s statement to the London Stock Exchange, confirming an approach had been made, did not identify the would-be bidder. Shares in Imperial, which earlier this [...]
Farnborough struck by industry gloom July 15, 2008 Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways was the talk of the Farnborough Airshow yesterday after it unveiled a $20bn (£10bn) order for 100 planes – but it was a quiet debut for Europe’s biggest industry show. Etihad CEO James Hogan said the airline had placed orders for 35 787 Dreamliners and 10 777s from America’s Boeing for [...]
Political hurdle for Kazakh deal July 15, 2008 Analysts yesterday warned the political risks were “too great” for a possible merger between Kazakh miner Kazakhmys and fellow Russian miner Metalloinvest, the company founded by billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov. Shares in Kazakhmys rose more than 6 per cent after news that Metalloinvest, which mines 40 per cent of Russia’s iron ore, was exploring a [...]
Rescue plan falls flat July 15, 2008 American mortgage giant Freddie Mac passed its first test of investor confidence yesterday as buyers flocked to its $3bn (£1.5bn) sale of securities just hours after the US government announced sweeping measures to prop-up the country’s largest mortgage finance companies. However, shares in Freddie Mac and its sister company Fannie Mae, which together own or [...]
Santander secures British expansion July 15, 2008 Standard Life, one of Alliance & Leicester’s largest shareholders believes the bank is being sold to Abbey National owner Santander at a “giveaway” price. Santander’s offer represents a 36 per cent premium to A&L’s share price on Friday, but it’s still well below the stock’s 1200p peak a year ago. Despite assurances from A&L chief [...]
Inflation surge bites July 15, 2008 Bank of England rate setters face another tough decision as fresh evidence emerges that soaring inflation and sluggish high street sales continues to put pressure on consumer’s pockets and the wider economy. Prices charged by manufacturers at the factory fate rose by 10 per cent in June – the highest rate since comparable records began, [...]
