McGrath to quit as chair of Prudential December 20, 2011 THE CHAIRMAN of Prudential has finally paid the price for the insurer’s failed takeover of Asian rival AIA and said he will step down next year. Harvey McGrath will leave after more than a fifth of Prudential shareholders voted against his re-appointment in May. He became the focus of dissent after the $35.5bn (now £22.63bn) [...]
Morgan forgets about hacks as inquiry eyes up Murdoch December 20, 2011 PIERS Morgan denied knowledge of phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World yesterday, saying “the average editor is aware of five per cent of what his journalists are up to at any given time.” The CNN anchor told the Leveson inquiry he had no recollection of personal involvement with [...]
Cameron backs troubled taxman after damning report from MPs December 20, 2011 DOWNING Street has hit back at the committee of MPs which claimed the taxman had a “cosy” relationship with major businesses. A spokesman for David Cameron highlighted figures showing HM Revenue & Customs collected a “record” £468bn in tax last year. Its new approach has also been praised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and [...]
Where will our readers be spending Christmas? December 20, 2011 DAVID WOOTTON LORD MAYOR OF LONDON “I am going to spend Christmas day in Mansion House with all the family, including my grandchildren who are coming from Chicago. Boxing Day will be spent in Sevenoaks and then to a hotel in Kent for the family to enjoy. Lastly my wife and I will be spending [...]
Olympus looks to raise money December 20, 2011 Japanese camera company Olympus is preparing to issue around 100bn yen (£820m) in new shares to boost its bank balance and is reportedly looking to rival companies such as Sony and Fujifilm. The company’s president Shuichi Takayama also announced in a memo yesterday that Olympus’ directors will be taking cuts in renumeration of between 30 [...]
Tough choices at Deutsche Telekom December 20, 2011 Telecoms company Deutsche Telekom may be forced into a tie-up of its US wireless unit with Sprint Nextel after a $39bn deal with AT&T collapsed. AT&T said on Monday it had dropped its bid for T-Mobile USA, bowing to regulatory opposition and leaving both companies scrambling for alternatives. T-Mobile USA “is just crying out for [...]
Nat Express says profits on schedule December 20, 2011 NATIONAL Express said it was “firmly on target” to deliver profit growth this year across all of its bus, rail and coach divisions as cash-strapped consumers opt for public transport in straitened times. The transport group, which is due to report full 2011 results on 1 March, said it was in line to meet revenue [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE NATIONAL EXPRESS UPDATE? December 20, 2011 PAUL HICKMAN | PEEL HUNT National Express continues to push forward in a range of markets, and pre-tax growth excluding rail is already in consistent double digits. North America … is now the major theatre for expansion. PETER HYDE | LIBERUM SECURITIES Ongoing cost control and continuing volume growth has enabled National Express to deliver [...]
Nike improves as Oracle slides December 20, 2011 WALL Street saw a mixed bag of results on one of its final reporting days of the year yesterday, with Nike improving its profits but tech firm Oracle slumping after missing its own earnings targets. Nike said its quarterly net income rose 2.7 per cent to $469m (£299.5m), slightly ahead of forecasts, thanks to strong [...]
Jefferies beats expectations December 20, 2011 SHARES in Jefferies rallied by more than 20 per cent yesterday after the US investment bank posted better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. Chief executive Richard Handler said he had declined his annual bonus after volatile trading conditions and recent fears over the bank’s exposure to European sovereign debt wiped around half of its market value. The [...]
