Glaxo clinches HGS with new $3bn cash offer July 16, 2012 PHARMACEUTICAL mammoth GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has acquired Human Genome Sciences (HGS) in a friendly $3bn (£1.9bn) cash offer, following months of hostile pursuit. The sweetened offer of $14.25 per share is a premium of 99 per cent over HGS’s undisturbed share price. HGS had previously rejected as insufficient an offer of $13 per share, which valued [...]
Microsoft looks at Office 2013 to drive sales July 16, 2012 MICROSOFT last night unveiled a new version of Office, its flagship software suite, in an attempt to drive usage of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system and Surface tablets. The technology giant’s chief executive Steve Ballmer, called it “the most ambitious release of Office we’ve ever done” at yesterday’s press conference in San Francisco. The [...]
Olympic blow at G4S July 16, 2012 SHARES in security giant G4S plummeted 8.5 per cent yesterday on investor fears that the firm’s failure to provide enough Olympic guards will cause long-term reputational damage. Chief executive Nick Buckles will appear in front of parliament’s home affairs select committee today to explain what went wrong. But he is fighting to stay in his job [...]
Senate to grill HSBC’s execs July 16, 2012 HSBC executives are set to face the US Senate today to answer questions on the bank’s money laundering controls. A Senate committee last night published a scathing report following a year-long inquiry into HSBC’s efforts to stop illegal money flows between its US and international offices. Politicians are due to question bank staff and regulators [...]
Brennan waives AstraZeneca bonus but leaves with millions July 16, 2012 FORMER AstraZeneca chief executive David Brennan has waived his right to a 2012 bonus and will lose out on two years’s worth of performance-related shares, the pharmaceuticals giant revealed yesterday. Brennan was one of the first scalps of this year’s so-called shareholder spring, stepping down in June after investors voiced their anger over declining share [...]
Eurozone woes and bad assets hit Citi profits July 16, 2012 CITIGROUP profits fell again in the second quarter, its results revealed yesterday, as a loss on the sale of its stake in Turkish institution Akbank added to the headwinds it faces from the Eurozone crisis and a substantial drag from troubled assets left over from the financial crisis. Net income came in at $2.95bn (£1.85bn), [...]
The cost of a bailout continues to bite after a flunked stress test July 16, 2012 CITIGROUP’S shareholders rejected chief executive Vikram Pandit’s $15m (£9.6m) pay award in March, amid complaints that it didn’t sufficiently reflect company performance. Yesterday, America’s third-biggest bank did its best to show them its performance was on the up. Its share price did rise, although only because things were less bad than feared. The trouble is, [...]
Profits fall at broker Arden July 16, 2012 STOCKBROKER Arden Partners revealed a 50 per cent fall in pre-tax profits yesterday, as chief executive Jonathan Keeling blamed the Eurozone crisis for “challenging” trading conditions. Pre-tax profits fell from £1.2m to £600,000 in the six months to 30 April, on revenues that slipped to £5.6m from £7.4m a year earlier. During the period it took [...]
SEB buffers and takings pick up July 16, 2012 SWEDISH banking group SEB said yesterday it had the right buffers in place to protect it from Europe’s deep sovereign debt problems, as it posted second-quarter operating profit well above forecast. SEB’s core tier one capital level rose to 15.3 per cent in the quarter from 13.9 per cent in the first quarter. The bank’s [...]
US consumers’ thrift prompts recovery fears July 16, 2012 MARKETS took a hit across the pond yesterday after data revealed that US retail sales have sunk for three straight months, prompting fears over the strength of the recovery. Despite the old adage to never underestimate the American consumer, retail sales last month fell 0.5 per cent – disappointing analysts who had predicted a small [...]
