ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT WILL LIFE AFTER COMET BE LIKE FOR KESA? December 7, 2011 RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The planned disposal of the UK Comet business will convert the company into a European, especially French, play and even here the previously promising development has weakened. The Comet disposal has also resulted in some notable impairment charges. There are some glimmers of hope. DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC The Comet [...]
Carrefour in buy-out talks December 7, 2011 FRENCH retailer Guyenne et Gascogne said yesterday it was in talks with Carrefour that include expanding equity ties, and that it may receive a proposal soon. Guyenne et Gascogne chairman Bertrand de Montesquiou confirmed the talks after Le Figaro newspaper said Carrefour was considering buying its largest franchisee, and paying for it with Carrefour shares. [...]
Gerald Corbett to join Betfair December 7, 2011 CITY veteran Gerald Corbett, who has been chief executive of both Railtrack and Woolworths during his lengthy career, has been appointed as deputy chairman of struggling betting group Betfair. Corbett is currently currently chairman of Britvic, the the Royal National Institute for the Deaf and Moneysupermarket.com. He was chairman of Woolworths until a year before the [...]
Ross bails Cosalt out – until his offer ends December 7, 2011 DAVID Ross, chairman of safety gear supplier Cosalt, rode to the loss-making company’s rescue yesterday with a deal to provide it with £5m of emergency working capital to keep it afloat. Ross, whose grandfather founded Cosalt a century ago, has made the funds available from his Oval investment vehicle but warned that he would only [...]
News Int had Watson under surveillance December 7, 2011 LINKLATERS have confirmed Tom Watson MP was put under surveillance for a week in 2009 by a private investigator working for the now defunct News of the World. A letter sent to Parliament by lawyers representing News Corp verified that Watson, who has been Labour MP for West Bromwich East since 2001, was placed under [...]
Sales of Nintendo 3DS get boost from Mario in Japan but US and Europe lag December 7, 2011 SALES of Nintendo’s 3DS games device will hit 3m units in the Japanese market within days, but consumers in the US and Europe seem to be delaying holiday shopping due to poor economic conditions, the company said. Nintendo slashed the price of the 3DS by about 40 per cent in August and announced a flood [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK 2012 WILL BE MORE STABLE THAN THIS YEAR? December 7, 2011 ANDREW JURIC VCE “I think so, yes. I think we’ve seen the bulk of the Arab Spring and so we’ll see that settle out. And in terms of the financial crisis, it’ll be difficult to have it as bad as it was in the past year.” MARIUS BOGDANOS GROUPON “2012 might not be much better. [...]
Poor Britons turn to pricey payday loans December 7, 2011 THE DIRE state of many Britons’ personal finances has been underlined by new research that shows 3.5m people are considering taking out payday loans over the next six months. Concern over personal debt has reached the highest level since insolvency body R3 began making records, it said yesterday as it warned of “zombie debtors” who [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC December 7, 2011 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “The situation in the Eurozone is too uncertain to make any firm decisions right now. I vote to hold interest rates and hold QE until we know more on plans for fiscal integration, and on the markets’ reaction.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Stop gilt purchases and instead buy bank bonds, [...]
Stagecoach profits hit by rail division December 7, 2011 BRITISH transport group Stagecoach said yesterday it should have a stronger second half as its East Midlands rail unit returns to profitability, after a loss at the franchise weighed on first-half profits. The bus and rail operator said yesterday its British rail business swung to a first-half loss following weak trading at the East Midlands [...]
