Commerzbank shrinks lending to build capital May 9, 2012 GERMAN lender Commerzbank has posted a 63 per cent fall in quarterly profit after shrinking its business to strengthen its capital base, which now comfortably meets EU requirements. “We have again made good progress with our strategic goal of consistently deleveraging the balance sheet and further strengthening the capital base,” chief executive Martin Blessing said [...]
Glaxo bid for biotech firm turns hostile May 9, 2012 PHARMA giant GlaxoSmithKline stepped up its pursuit of Human Genome Sciences (HGS) yesterday, taking its $2.6bn (£1.6bn) bid directly to shareholders. GSK’s first bid for its long-term partner was last month rejected by HGS’s board, which insisted it undervalued the company. But the British behemoth is keen to get full control of a string of [...]
News Corp’s profits soar due to cable TV May 9, 2012 ONGOING investigations initiated upon the closure of scandal-ridden The News of the World last July carved a $63m shaped hole in News Corp in the third quarter, the company reported yesterday. But operating income grew by almost a quarter to $1.31bn, boosted by double digit growth at News Corp’s cable network programming and film divisions, [...]
Investors back StanChart pay May 9, 2012 STANDARD Chartered headed off a shareholder revolt over director pay yesterday despite criticism from advisory group Pirc. Only 7.4 per cent of shareholders voted against the bank’s remuneration report even though Pirc said last week that the award for the head of the investment bank, Mike Rees, was too high. Standard Chartered notched up a [...]
HAIR STYLIST VIDAL SASSOON DIES AGED 84 May 9, 2012 CELEBRITY hairdresser Vidal Sassoon died of natural causes yesterday, at the age of 84. The man behind an eponymous line of salons, beauty schools and hair products, Sassoon is credited with creating the short “bob” hairstyles in the 1960s, ending the previously popular “beehive” fashion. The last years of his life were spent living in [...]
Investors surge to safe UK and German bonds May 9, 2012 THE BRITISH government’s borrowing costs fell to an all-time low yesterday as investors desperately sought safe locations to keep their cash as the Eurozone crisis deepens further. Yields on German bunds, US Treasuries, and Japanese government bonds also dropped, while the euro fell against the dollar, pound and yen. Meanwhile investors continued to flee weaker [...]
German trade at record level May 9, 2012 GERMAN exports and imports both leapt to record monthly levels in March, official data showed yesterday, bolstering hopes that Europe’s largest economy has escaped recession and highlighting the country’s resilience to the Eurozone’s deepening debt crisis. Meanwhile French trade data showed its exports to Germany and other northern European countries increased in the month even [...]
Portugal axes public holidays May 9, 2012 PORTUGAL has cancelled four of its 14 public holidays in an attempt to improve its GDP figures amid its worst recession since the 1970s. The Eurozone nation has negotiated with the Vatican to suspend the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and Corpus Christi for the next five years, according to local media, while two [...]
Lengthy Greek negotiations scare markets May 9, 2012 GREEK socialist Evangelos Venizelos yesterday called for a unity government of the three largest parties in Greece to bring an end to the chaos following the indecisive general election over the weekend. Stocks slid another 0.87 per cent to a fresh 20-year low and borrowing costs jumped again as worried investors continued to flee the [...]
Spain’s part-nationalisation of Bankia sparks fears over fresh Eurozone crisis May 9, 2012 SPAIN’S dramatic decision to part-nationalise its fourth-biggest bank, Bankia, last night escalated fears over the implications of a fresh Eurozone crisis. The deal, which means the state will now have a 45 per cent stake in Bankia, due to the conversion of its previous €4.5bn bailout loan into shares, marks a U-turn for Prime Minister [...]
