Pace in £300m deal for 2Wire July 26, 2010 PACE, the world’s largest set-top box maker, has agreed to buy US broadband technology firm 2Wire for £306.6m to broaden its customer base beyond cable and satellite into the Internet TV market. The British company, which overtook to claim the top spot in May, said 2Wire had an established relationship with North American telecoms providers [...]
National Grid upbeat on year ahead July 26, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest utility company National Grid said it was positive on the outlook for the year and reported a 1.3 per cent rise in electricity transported in the first quarter. The grid operator said, however, that gas volumes transported in Britain were down by 4.6 per cent in the first quarter due to the effects [...]
Reckitt Benckiser profit up 23pc July 26, 2010 CONSUMER goods group Reckitt Benckiser saw net profit rise 23 per cent to £380m, in the second quarter. Sales rose to £2.1bn from £1.9bn in the same period last year. Reckitt, which agreed to buy durex-maker SSL for £2.54bn, said if its offer was successful it hoped to close the deal in the fourth quarter [...]
Beleaguered BP boss poised to step down July 25, 2010 EMBATTLED BP chief executive Tony Hayward is to quit the company, with the oil giant’s board deciding today whether to announce his resignation tomorrow – when the group delivers second quarter results – or wait until the Gulf of Mexico leak is plugged. Hayward was yesterday locked in negotiations with board members over his exit [...]
Geithner says recession over July 25, 2010 THE US economy is not likely to slip back into recession but letting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire is necessary to show commitment to cutting budget deficits, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday. In appearances on several Sunday talk shows, Geithner said only two to three per cent of Americans – those making [...]
Lessons from Hayward’s departure July 25, 2010 SHOULD we fell sorry for Tony Hayward, BP’s beleaguered chief executive? His departure from the firm, which he joined in 1982 as a rig geologist in Aberdeen, will be announced imminently; the 53-year old is being sacrificed to allow the oil giant to move on and try and rebuild itself after the catastrophic damage to [...]
Coalition details regulation July 25, 2010 CITY minister Mark Hoban is today set to solidify the coalition government’s plans to overhaul banking regulation. His speech, to bankers and business leaders, will mark the start of two days in which the ruling party will detail plans to change the regulatory system and disband the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The coalition is calling [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 25, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph FUND CHIEF SLAMS OFWAT One of Britain’s leading investors in the UK’s water industry has said that Ofwat is “dysfunctional” and should be merged with the electricity regulator, Ofgem. Neil Woodford, leading fund manager for Invesco Perpetual, said that the water regulator did not understand the equity market and that [...]
Apollo to form Ares bank July 25, 2010 Private equity firm Apollo Global Management plans to create a new bank under a provision in the US financial reforms passed last week, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Apollo has reportedly brought on a team from Countrywide Financial to run the bank, which has yet to receive approval from regulators. Apollo plans to ask its [...]
Eurogroup chair praises EFSF July 25, 2010 Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said establishment of the Eurozone’s emergency loan mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), calmed markets and said that he was against changing Eurozone rules in a way to allow exclusion of euro members. Juncker welcomed the EFSF mechanism, saying that “since establishment of the mechanism conditions truly calmed down and [...]
