Night of the long knives at Thomas Cook January 4, 2012 THE NEW chairman of Thomas Cook has unveiled a shake-up of the tour operator’s board with three non-executive directors set to leave next month following a turbulent year that saw the firm teetering on the brink. Frank Meysman, a former US consumer goods executive, took over as chairman of the troubled tour operator last month [...]
BOARDROOM CLEAROUT January 4, 2012 Like former PM Harold McMillan, who had his own “night of the long knives” in 1962 by sacking eight cabinet ministers in one go, incoming chairman Frank Meysman has dispensed with three of Thomas Cook’s five non-executive directors. The soon to be ex-execs have a combined age of 202. But who are they? Peter Middleton [...]
Pressure for shake-up at RIM grows January 4, 2012 THERE was growing pressure yesterday on BlackBerry maker Research in Motion to unveil a boardroom shakeup that could see its co-chairmen ousted. An increasing groundswell, led by activist investor Jaguar Financial, is calling for a break-up or sale of the company following a dire year. The board has launched a review of the unusual company [...]
Change at top can’t come too soon January 4, 2012 THERE will be few tears shed in the telecoms world if RIM’s Mike Lazaridis and James Balsillie are ousted from their roles as co-chairmen. The pair, who are also co-chief executives, have enjoyed a stranglehold over the company for too long, thanks to a bizarre boardroom structure that flies in the face of corporate governance [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK BLACKBERRY WILL BE ABLE TO REBUILD ITS REPUTATION? January 4, 2012 ROBIN HOLLINSWORTH ANTARES UNDERWRITING “Yes, but it will take a lot of PR and marketing. They may need a killer app. But it will be hard to go up against the likes of Google.” MILES OSORIO MONTPELIER RE “It’s going to be difficult outside of the business community. They’re good at email, but I’d prefer [...]
FTSE FIRM IN RACE FOR 2012 GAMES DELIVERY January 4, 2012 ANDREW Tinkler, the boss of the FTSE 250 haulage empire Stobart Group, spent a quiet Christmas at his home in Cumbria. But now he is “raring to go” in 2012, he tells The Capitalist, focusing on the £100m development of the Stobart-owned London Southend Airport, which will turn what was once Britain’s third-busiest airport – [...]
The only way is Essex for S&N spin-off January 4, 2012 SMITH & Nephew has sought to bounce back from a profits slump by spinning off its biologics business in a $258m (£165m) deal. Europe’s largest artificial hip and knee maker said it will form a US-based joint venture which will be majority owned by healthcare private equity firm Essex Woodlands. Yesterday S&N said it would [...]
BP halts spill fund over a court order January 4, 2012 BP’s $20bn (£12.8bn) oil spill fund has halted payments to eligible victims until a US federal court clarifies an order issued in December, according to a notice posted on the fund’s website. The court in Louisiana overseeing spill lawsuits had asked the fund, called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, to pay into a court supervised [...]
Sinopec makes $2.2bn shale deal with Devon January 4, 2012 CHINESE oil company Sinopec has sealed a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) deal with Devon Energy to give it access to shale deposits in the US. Sinopec will get a one-third stake in five new shale projects, and the companies expect to drill 125 wells this year. China has been buying energy sources to maintain its fast-growing economy, [...]
Vestas cuts its guidance after turbine costs January 4, 2012 ENGINEER Vestas yesterday cut guidance for full-year 2011 revenue to about €6bn (£4.9bn) from an estimate of €6.4bn given at the end of October, It said some revenue had been delayed into 2012 and costs of manufacturing its V112 turbine had been higher than expected. The cut represented the company’s second profits warning in three [...]
