International Power rejects £6bn GDF bid April 4, 2012 GDF SUEZ said yesterday it was considering whether to sweeten its £6bn offer to buy out minority shareholders in International Power after the British company rejected its offer for the 30 per cent it does not already own. The French power company said it was seriously thinking about ditching the bid but was weighing up [...]
Ofgem launches investigation into E.ON sales tactics April 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S energy regulator Ofgem has started investigating whether electricity and gas supplier E.ON has used inappropriate sales tactics in its telephone and face-to-face marketing, the watchdog said yesterday. E.ON is the fifth of the “Big Six” energy suppliers to be investigated for breaching fair marketing rules, with only Centrica’s British Gas retailer left untouched. The [...]
Twitter cosies up to car companies April 4, 2012 Twitter, looking for better proximity to car companies with hefty ad budgets, said yesterday it will open an office in Detroit. The San Francisco social media firm has located an office in the Motor City following a notable financial recovery by General Motors, Ford Motors and Chrysler after years of painful restructuring and depressed auto [...]
Crackdown on tobacco smuggling April 4, 2012 Health officials yesterday provisionally agreed a global deal to combat tobacco smuggling, a trade the World Health Organisation (WHO) said makes harmful smoking too cheap and robs finance ministries of up to $50bn (£31.5bn) a year. The agreement requires manufacturers to be licensed and tobacco packaging to bear markings so that any goods sold illegally [...]
Fiat sees falling Europe sales April 4, 2012 European new car sales will decline for the fifth year in a row in 2012 to 13m vehicles, Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne said yesterday, as the group moved a step closer towards a full-blown merger with US automaker Chrysler. “For 2012 the market expectations in Europe are not encouraging,” Marchionne, who also runs Chrysler, [...]
Burger King set to rejoin the US stock market April 4, 2012 BURGER King will flip back to the public markets less than two years after it was snapped up by a US private equity house. The world’s third-largest hamburger chain, currently owned by 3G Capital Management, has agreed to sell a 29 per cent stake to London-listed investment firm Justice Holdings for $1.4bn (£882m). Shares in [...]
Chief executive of Next sells £3.8m shares April 4, 2012 NEXT chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson sold 125,000 of the clothing retailer’s shares after the close of trading on Tuesday, sparking a sell-off in the firm’s shares yesterday as traders followed suit. Wolfson sold the shares at 3,057p each, banking more than £3.8m, which sent shares in the company down four per cent last night [...]
MEET THE NEW INVESTOR: JUSTICE April 4, 2012 AFTER helping to broker a £130bn bailout for several British banks in autumn 2009, Lord Myners’ deal for $8bn-valued Burger King might seem like small fry. It has the potential to be a whopper of a deal for the former City minister, however, as well as the stellar group of investment veterans who make up [...]
David Cameron unveils new Big Society bank April 4, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday announced the launch of a “Big Society bank” that will lend money to charities and other good causes. The fund expects to raise £600m in capital over the next four years, which it plans to lend to social enterprises that can prove they can repay the investment from their income. Around £400m [...]
End of tax break prompts house price jump April 4, 2012 HOUSE prices sprang upwards last month as first time buyers rushed to beat the expiry of a temporary break on stamp duty, yet the market as a whole remains sluggish. Prices jumped by 2.2 per cent in March, the Halifax reported yesterday, bouncing back from February’s 0.4 per cent monthly decline. Yet the average cost [...]
