SS&C moves to join fight for GlobeOp March 8, 2012 SHAREHOLDER hopes of a lucrative bidding war for GlobeOp jumped yesterday after US financial software provider SS&C Technologies suggested making a cash offer that would beat an agreed bid from private equity house TPG Capital. SS&C proposed making a 485p a share offer for the hedge fund administrator, whose independent directors have said they would [...]
Air France-KLM posts a loss on fuel price pain March 8, 2012 AIR FRANCE-KLM yesterday warned that a soaring fuel bill would hit profits this year after it swung to a loss in 2011 and scrapped its dividend. The Franco-Dutch airline posted an operating loss of €353m (£296m) for 2011, compared with a profit of €28m in the previous year, reflecting a €904m hike in its fuel [...]
Stella brewer predicts 2012 growth after strong quarter March 8, 2012 ANHEUSER-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, beat expectations for profit growth in the fourth quarter, it said yesterday, and forecast that consumers in its two main markets – the US and Brazil – would be drinking more in 2012. The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, reported a 12.2 per cent like-for-like rise in [...]
EADS expects a record year but warns on China March 8, 2012 EADS, the world’s biggest passenger plane maker, has doubled its dividend and forecast record sales next year, following an 87 per cent rise in net income to €1.03bn in 2011. But outgoing chief executive Louis Gallois complained that political meddling from Germany and China was impeding its progress. Gallois said Berlin had pressured it to [...]
COLIN FIRTH HANDED FREEDOM OF THE CITY March 8, 2012 ACADEMY award winning actor Colin Firth was yesterday handed the Freedom of the City of London in a ceremony at the Guildhall. Firth, who starred in the famous BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, was rewarded for services to acting. Picture: Laura Lean / CITY A.M.
NICK CANDY JOINS THE PARTY SET AT CANNES March 8, 2012 AFTER a subdued and more sombre start to MIPIM, the annual property conference in Cannes, the mood began to pick up on Wednesday, the second and busiest day, as the weather brightened and investors began to talk more positively, albeit cautiously about the outlook for real estate this year. The sun graced Cannes in time [...]
Families set to lose from benefit cuts March 8, 2012 CUTS to benefits will hit families with children the hardest, with the average family set to lose hundreds of pounds a year under current planned changes, a report showed yesterday. Family incomes will fall by 0.6 per cent in real terms in the coming financial year – slower than the 2.8 per cent fall this [...]
French GDP grinds to halt as German growth holds up March 8, 2012 THE FRENCH economy is looking weak with employment falling and new forecasts suggest it will not grow in the first three months of 2012. However, Germany is on a reasonably strong footing, according to industrial production data out yesterday. The final quarter of 2011 saw French non-farm payrolls fall by 0.1 per cent – a [...]
Interest rates at record low for three years as Bank of England holds policy March 8, 2012 THE BANK of England held interest rates again yesterday, extending the period at which they have been at a record low to three full years. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided to leave its asset purchase programme unaltered, as the £50bn in quantitative easing (QE) announced last month continues to be implemented. QE began [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK GREECE’S TROUBLES ARE OVER?* March 8, 2012 ROSETTE TYERS | ALPHA CONNECT CONSULTING “I think that Greece is still going to have problems. I don’t think you can find a solution that quickly. It is going to take time to fix it.” ADRIAN WELLS | PRUPIM “Greece’s problems are not going to go away that quickly and the underlying issues will carry [...]
