BBC: keep top wages secret July 4, 2010 MARK Thompson, the director general of the BBC, fired a warning shot to the government and the BBC Trust yesterday, insisting it would be “damaging and destructive” to publish the salaries of the corporation’s top stars. He said he accepted the decision by the BBC Trust to force the corporation to publish the names of its highest earners [...]
Ukraine is set to receive a $15bn IMF stability grant July 4, 2010 THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to grant Ukraine $14.9bn (£12.3bn) to stabilise its ailing economy. The “preliminary co-operation agreement” is good news for president Viktor Yanukovich, but is only offered on the basis his coalition government delivers upopular economic reforms, such as increasing the price of natural gas. Final approval would not be [...]
Luxury motor company Aston Martin considers a £1bn IPO July 4, 2010 LUXURY carmaker Aston Martin is considering a joint venture with another manufacturer or an initial public offering (IPO) to boost its brand’s range and and technology. Chairman David Richards said over the weekend he thought the firm would be valued at over £1bn for the purposes of an IPO. A second alternative would be a [...]
BUFFETT GIVES AWAY HIS BILLIONS July 4, 2010 US billionaire Warren Buffett has pledged to give away 99 per cent of his wealth – around $1.93bn (£1.27bn) in shares of his company Berkshire Hathaway – to five charitable groups, financial filings showed. In notifications to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett showed the donations included $1.6bn to the Bill and Melinda Gates [...]
E&Y demands more support for midcaps July 4, 2010 MEDIUM-SIZED companies could be major drivers of the UK economy but some are being hampered by the political and regulatory environment, according to a report published today by Ernst & Young. The report says many midcaps are caught between focus on big business and support for small businesses. Research conducted by YouGov for the report [...]
Birds Eye and Findus in battle for Unilever arm July 4, 2010 FISH finger maker Birds Eye Iglo is set to go head to head with crispy pancake makers Findus Group in the final round of bidding for Unilever’s Italian frozen food arm. The Italian division was put on sale earlier this year, and final bids are due tomorrow. The final competition is thought to be between [...]
Rates to stay on hold but tensions rise July 4, 2010 TENSIONS are growing within the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) but they are not yet sufficient to cause a hike in interest rates from the current level of 0.5 per cent, economists say. The minutes of the June meeting showed that Andrew Sentance voted for a 0.25 per cent rise while the other [...]
HOW MUCH TENSION IS THERE AMONGST BANK OF ENGLAND MPC MEMBERS? July 4, 2010 MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “Recent MPC comments hint at a vigorous debate, and some members appear to believe that a broader range of factors is behind the pick-up in inflation. If inflation expectations continue to rise then the MPC could feel obliged to hike rates to show they take the inflation target seriously.” PHILIP SHAW [...]
Cafe Rouge owner to buy Paramount July 4, 2010 BLACKSTONE-BACKED restaurant owner Tragus is eyeing a takeover bid for industry rival Paramount Restaurants. The Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada owner is in discussions over a bid for Paramount that could value the firm at £50m. Paramount, which owns restaurant chains including Cafe Uno and Bertorelli, was taken over by its lenders last year [...]
Bank of England rates paralysis to continue July 4, 2010 AS WE enter the first full trading week of the second half of the year, the markets remain in a foul mood. Bad news suggesting that the economic recovery has stalled invariably leads to daily sell offs while good news is ignored. In fact, when we get yet another Bank of England rate decision on [...]
