Alliance & Leicester snapped up as bid fever returns to the City July 15, 2008 A frenzy of merger and acquisition activity, spearheaded by Spanish bank Santander agreeing to buy Alliance & Leicester for £1.3bn, returned to the markets yesterday causing stocks to rally. The oil and gas sector was the centre of much of the bid action, with Imperial Energy, the developer of Russian oil reserves, soaring 18 per [...]
Fire sale likely at Dawnay Day as £2bn empire teeters July 14, 2008 Dawnay Day, the privately owned financial services and property giant, faces the fire sale of many of its assets to plug a cash flow crisis. The £2bn empire, run by Guy Naggar and Peter Klimt, has called in Ernst & Young to restructure several companies within the group following a massive loss incurred last week [...]
US authorities move to rescue Freddie and Fannie July 14, 2008 Support from US Treasury comes minutes before far east markets open for trading US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson moved to calm nerves about stricken American lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last night, saying the government would be willing to take an equity stake in the two banks. His eagerly awaited statement came just minutes [...]
Treks Appeal July 14, 2008 The early summer is the only time of year to visit Marrakesh, reckons Victoria Bates A shimmering wall of heat welcomes you as you step out of the plane onto the tarmac at Marrakesh Menara Airport. And although it’s a dry heat, rather than the smothering humidity of the tropics, the first thing that strikes [...]
City workers get creative with life drawing twenty-seven storeys up July 14, 2008 Timothy Barber joins Citigroup employees indulging their artistic sides It’s easy to forget the noise and melee of Canary Wharf’s evening rush hour when you’re standing in the light filled open space of the 27th floor of Citgroup’s headquarters. Down below, thousands of tired workers are flooding from their offices into the tube and DLR [...]
Chambers ban is death sentence, says Moses July 14, 2008 Drugs-cheat sprinter Dwain Chambers’ bid to overturn his lifetime Olympic ban has received support from an unlikely source – track legend and staunch anti-doping campaigner Ed Moses. The only barrier to Chambers competing in Beijing this summer is now the British Olympic Association’s suspension, after the 30-year-old won the 100m at the National Championships, which [...]
Smith frustrates England as defiant Proteas scent draw July 14, 2008 England will this morning redouble their efforts to seal victory in the first Test after South Africa produced a defiant performance to force the match into the final day at Lord’s. Having dismissed the tourists for 247 on Saturday and forced the follow-on, England were confident of getting the four-Test series off to a winning [...]
Samp want Chelsea flop Shevchenko July 14, 2008 Chelsea flop Andriy Shevchenko has been offered a way out of Stamford Bridge by Italian club Sampdoria. The Blues’ £30m record signing has scored just 22 goals in 76 appearances since joining from AC Milan two years ago. Milan have repeatedly been linked with a move to bring one of their best loved players back [...]
Arsenal ‘offered Eto’o swap’ July 14, 2008 Barcelona look set to make a last ditch attempt to win the race for Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor by offering £8m cash plus Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o. Barcelona have been vying with AC Milan for the 24-year-old, who was the Gunners’ top scorer last season with 30 goals. Arsenal resisted initial interest in the muscular Togo [...]
Energy prices are set to fall right back down to Earth July 14, 2008 Even though oil prices hit new records at $147 on Friday, sentiment in the energy markets is slowly starting to shift. If you want proof, recall the events of last Wednesday. Traders in London woke up to pictures of Iranian missile tests and later in the day were forced to digest a large draw in [...]
