Casualties provide opportunity May 25, 2009 The retailers that survive the recession will be able to snap up a total of £3.9bn worth of fallen firms to boost their revenues and market share, according to research out today from Verdict. It says £6.5bn of sales, 9,500 stores, and 24m square feet of space has become available due to the downturn, which [...]
MTN Bharti tie-up revived May 25, 2009 INDIAN mobile operator Bharti Airtel and South African network MTN have restarted tie-up talks, rekindling hopes of a $23bn (£14.5bn) transaction to create a telecoms giant. The complex deal, which would eclipse HM Treasury’s purchase of a $22.3bn stake in Lloyds Banking Group and be the largest non-pharmaceutical sector merger in 2009, would see both [...]
Key German sentiment indicator reports a welcome May boost May 25, 2009 GERMAN corporate sentiment rose in May amid further cheer about prospects of an economic recovery, according to a key measure. Think tank Ifo’s business climate index, based on a poll of 7,000 firms, rose to 84.2 in May from 83.7 in April. Commerzbank economist Joerg Kraemer said: “This is a further clear signal that the [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs May 25, 2009 WolseleyThe plumbers and builders merchant has appointed Michael Wareing, chief executive of accountancy firm KPMG, and Alain Le Goff, a former executive at consumer giant Reckitt Benckiser, as non-executive directors. Wareing, pictured, 55, joined KPMG in 1973 and became chief executive in 2005. Le Goff, 57, retired as executive vice president of supply at Reckitt [...]
Collins Stewart hunts for successor to Terry Smith May 25, 2009 CITY stockbroker Collins Stewart has appointed headhunters to recruit two new non-executive directors, one of whom will be groomed to become the long-term successor to executive chairman Terry Smith. One of the non-executives is expected to become executive deputy chairman, with the potential to take the helm at the firm when Smith eventually steps down [...]
Travelzest is undeterred by libel lawsuit May 25, 2009 TOUR operator group Travelzest is pressing ahead with its investigation into the alleged theft of company money, despite a defamation lawsuit filed by founder and former chief executive Chris Mottershead. Mottershead launched libel proceedings last week, almost a month after the group announced it had suspended him pending the outcome of an investigation into “a [...]
MPs should show how to use pay to reward talent May 25, 2009 May has been a very embarrassing month. People keep talking about money. Not the anonymous multi-trillion pound bailout/quantitative easing/fiscal stimulus piles of money, but the cringingly personal “my house is bigger than yours” monthly pay-cheque sort of money. One of CNBC TV’s guests last week hit the nail on the head when he said; “the [...]
FIRST CLASS GROUNDED May 25, 2009 AUSTRALIAN airline Qantas will stop selling first class fares on most of its flights, the firm said yesterday, as it struggles to cope in the downturn. Last week, British Airways said it would not fit first class cabins on its new aircraft, as business and consumer demand for premium travel falls.
Mountgrange property fund May 25, 2009 In fresh evidence of opportunistic property funds sniffing for the bottom of the market Mountgrange Investment Management has announced that it closed a new fund with a total of £300m of committed equity. Mountgrange has attracted over 30 global investors from mainly pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. The UK focused fund has also succeeded [...]
Toyota bumped down in the US May 25, 2009 Toyota lost its top spot in a rank of suppliers in the US yesterday, as Honda beat it to the post. Toyota came second in the annual survey. Among the US carmakers, Ford climbed from the bottom two years ago to make its largest lead over General Motors (GM), while Chrysler ranked last for the [...]
