Microsoft takes on Kindle with e-reader stake April 30, 2012 MICROSOFT yesterday took its first step into the e-reader game, taking on digital giants Amazon and Apple by joining forces with Barnes & Noble and its e-reader Nook. The news sent shares of the US book retailer rocketing by a staggering 90 per cent in early trading. Microsoft will invest $300m (£184.6m) in return for [...]
Cameron hauled back to defend Jeremy Hunt over BSkyB probe April 30, 2012 DAVID Cameron was forced to return to parliament yesterday to defend his culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and his handling of News Corp’s bid for the rest of BSkyB. Cameron pulled out of a local election campaign trip to Buckinghamshire so he could field an urgent question from the Labour party on Hunt, who has already [...]
Lion Capital set to buy French glasses retailer Alain Afflelou April 30, 2012 PRIVATE EQUITY firm Lion Capital said yesterday it is close to clinching a deal to buy rival Bridgepoint’s majority stake in Alain Afflelou, the French eyewear retailer. The UK-based buyout group has entered exclusive talks with Bridgepoint and minority shareholders Apax Partners and Altamir Amboise and expects to finalise the deal in June, it said. [...]
Investors force Aviva boss to reject pay rise April 30, 2012 ACTIVIST shareholders yesterday claimed victory after the boss of Britain’s second biggest insurer was forced into a humiliating climbdown on the size of his pay packet. Andrew Moss, chief executive of Aviva, decided to waive his 2012 salary increase as part of a review of the firm’s executive pay policy, launched in response to pressure [...]
Executives beware the winds of shareholder activism April 30, 2012 BARELY a day goes by without another incidence of shareholder activism. Investors in blue chip firms ranging from hedge funds to pharmaceuticals have been flexing their muscles with remarkable frequency recently, expressing their displeasure on executive pay and strategic direction. It is debatable how much of this is to do with policy changes. In the [...]
SHAREHOLDERS STEP UP THE PRESSURE April 30, 2012 Today – Man Group Man Group chief executive Peter Clarke will face pressure from investors at the hedge fund’s AGM to improve performance or step down. The firm’s share price has fallen by almost 60 per cent since September last year. Yesterday – Aviva Chief executive Andrew Moss waived a £46,000 pay rise after criticism [...]
Aberdeen rises after investors seek out risk April 30, 2012 ABERDEEN Asset Management was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 yesterday after it posted a 14 per cent jump in profit and raised its dividend by a sixth. The stock closed up 3.47 per cent at 283.5p after Aberdeen signalled investors had rediscovered their appetite for risk as global economic fears ease. [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE SHARES IN ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT? April 30, 2012 DAVID MCCANN NUMIS The 4.4p interim dividend is better than consensus 4.1p, but behind our 5.2p estimate. However, we still expect to maintain our 11p total dividend forecast for this year (i.e. a higher final compensating for the lower interim) given the strong earnings momentum… Aberdeen remains a top pick. ARUN MELMANE INVESTEC We raise [...]
FSA seeks £100m for investors who lost out in Arch cru freeze April 30, 2012 THOUSANDS of investors who were mis-sold Arch cru funds are in line for an extra £100m compensation. The Financial Services Authority has used new powers to set up the scheme after investors seeking low-risk products ended up with high-risk assets such as shipping and venture capital. Arch cru shareholders were locked into losses when the [...]
NAB: British recovery is worse than years after the Depression April 30, 2012 THE owner of Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks has blamed its decision to cut 1,400 jobs on a British recovery that is “longer and slower” than the period after the Depression. National Australia Bank said it would take charges of $740m (£474m) after the shake-up, which follows the Eurozone slump, Britain’s flagging economy and a “double [...]
