Drought could last until year end April 15, 2012 A drought affecting parts of England could last until after Christmas, Britain’s environment agency warned today, as rain over the spring and summer is unlikely to replenish low water levels. In a country more usually associated with damp and drizzle, drought has been declared in seventeen counties in England’s southeast and central regions, after two [...]
Tata Steel to invest £800m in Wales April 15, 2012 Hundreds of millions of pounds is to be invested in the Welsh steel industry over the next five years. The first minister of Wales returned from a trade mission to India and announced that steel giant Tata plans to invest £800m in Wales. Carwyn Jones met the vice chairman of Tata Steel, Mr B Muthuraman, [...]
Sir Richard set to appeal BMI takeover deal April 15, 2012 VIRGIN Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson yesterday vowed to appeal to Europe over British Airways owner IAG’s takeover of smaller carrier BMI. The £172m deal was given clearance by the European Commission at the end of March, but Sir Richard has criticised the regulators for their swift decision, in the latest attack on his rival’s [...]
Sarko calls for ECB mandate to include promoting GDP growth April 15, 2012 FRENCH president Nicolas Sarkozy wants the European Central Bank (ECB) to add promoting growth to its mandate in order to counter what he says is an inflexible attitude at the Bank. Speaking during a re-election campaign in which Sarkozy is trailing his socialist rival François Hollande in the polls, Sarkozy was keen to play up [...]
Q and A: What does China’s exchange rate change mean? April 15, 2012 Q What has happened to China’s currency regime? A The People’s Bank of China has allowed its currency more flexibility to rise and fall against others. Until today, the currency could move 0.5 per cent against a basket of the currencies of the country’s main trading partners – largely made up of the dollar, yen, [...]
KKR enters the race for Rio and BHP diamonds April 15, 2012 US BUYOUT giant KKR has emerged as one of the frontrunners to snap up the diamond businesses put up for sale by mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The listed private equity house wants to create the world’s third-largest diamond miner to challenge De Beers and Alrosa. It is believed to be competing with [...]
Up to 5,000 jobs at Credit Suisse could go April 15, 2012 SWISS bank Credit Suisse could announce the loss of up to 5,000 jobs in its investment banking business at its forthcoming first-quarter results, a Swiss newspaper reported yesterday. Citing an estimate from a member of senior management, the Sonntag newspaper said the bank could cut around 5,000 positions. The investment bank is “simply completely oversized”, [...]
American buyout giant’s gem plan could quickly lose sparkle April 15, 2012 KKR’s plan to merge the diamond operations of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton might sound ambitious, but the deal loses its sparkle upon closer inspection. The market for the proverbial girl’s best friend is hot, about that there is no doubt. Demand is holding up even in mature markets while emerging countries are quickly falling [...]
Investor group gives nod to Barclays pay April 15, 2012 A VOTING agent that works for Barclays’ second-biggest shareholder has recommended a vote in favour of Bob Diamond’s bumper pay package. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) advised its clients last week that Barclays’ remuneration package is consistent with previous guidance to investors and recommends voting in favour of it. ISS is one of the world’s biggest [...]
Wall Street expected to see revenues rise April 15, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs is expected to see a bounceback in revenues when it reports its first-quarter results tomorrow, with analysts predicting that the bank’s revenues will rise to $9.3bn (£5.9bn) versus $6bn in the fourth quarter of 2011. Analysts have been revising their price targets for Wall Street banks upwards ahead of a week of US [...]
