KKR CASHES IN AS BOOTS SOLD IN $16BN PLAN June 19, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm KKR yesterday confounded its critics by pulling off a deal to sell 45 per cent of pharmaceutical giant Alliance Boots to US firm Walgreens for an initial $6.7bn (£4.3bn). In three years Walgreens will have the option to complete the takeover and buy the remaining 55 per cent stake. The deal will create [...]
G20 split emerges over rescue plan for Italy and Spain June 19, 2012 DIVISIONS emerged at the G20 summit in Mexico last night over plans for Europe’s bailout funds to snap up the debt of member states such as Italy and Spain. European officials briefed that a consensus had been reached on the need to cut borrowing costs of troubled Eurozone governments, leading to reports that even German [...]
High-tax UK losing out as investors favour Germany June 19, 2012 HIGH taxes, expensive workers and a lack of decent office space is driving foreign investors away from the UK and into Germany, according to a damning new report published today. Unless major changes are made, the UK will lose its place as Europe’s top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) to Germany within the next [...]
Inflation falls at last – but the damage has already been done June 19, 2012 AT last, Britain’s inflation problem is abating. Prices are still increasing too quickly – inflation remains at 3.1 per cent on the retail price index and 2.8 per cent on the consumer price index, painful as wages are growing far less quickly. But the direction of travel is reassuring. The Bank of England – by [...]
Europe to soften rules over credit rating agencies June 19, 2012 BRUSSELS will water down moves to force firms to rotate which credit rating agencies they use to evaluate their debt, it emerged yesterday. Yet the European parliament also voted in favour of new restraints on the ability of rating agencies to downgrade its member governments. Under new plans, agencies will only be able to announce [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 19, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Hedge funds bet on Bunds sell-off as Eurozone woes weigh on Berlin Leading hedge fund managers are betting on a significant sell-off in German government bonds in the coming months after a sharp fall in yields on the debt paper driven by a flight to safety in the Eurozone. One small step for [...]
UK and Argentina in G20 row June 19, 2012 Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday spoke out again in favour of a referendum for Falkland Islanders over whether the country remains a self-governing British territory. “We want to put this issue beyond doubt. This referendum will be something of a game changer,” said Cameron at the close of the G20 summit. The tension between UK [...]
Adobe cuts its revenue outlook June 19, 2012 Adobe Systems, maker of Photoshop and Acrobat software, yesterday cut its full-year revenue outlook as weak demand in Europe could affect sales of the recently launched versions of its design software. Adobe now expects revenue growth of six per cent to seven per cent, implying full-year revenue of $4.47bn to $4.51bn and an adjusted profit [...]
Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador June 19, 2012 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seeking political asylum at Ecuador’s London embassy, the country’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino said. Last week the UK’s Supreme Court refused Assange’s bid to reopen an appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes he denies.
Abnormal share price changes at 10-year low June 19, 2012 UNUSUAL share price changes in UK companies ahead of a deal announcement have fallen to a decade low, but still take place in a fifth of cases, according to new data from the City watchdog yesterday. In the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) final annual report before it is split into two new regulatory bodies, it [...]
