London jitters thwart Moscow airport float May 31, 2011 MOSCOW’S busiest airport has become the latest group to fall victim to shaky investor confidence in London’s initial public offering (IPO) market. DME Limited, the offshore company that owns Domodedovo airport, announced the withdrawal of its planned $700m-$1bn (£424 – £607m) float in London late on Sunday night, having published its intention to float document [...]
Germany set to turn off its nuclear power May 31, 2011 GERMANY plans to shut all nuclear reactors by 2022, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition said yesterday, in a policy reversal drawn up in a rush after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The coalition, sensitive to accusations it may increase dependence on highly polluting brown coal, said it planned to cut power use by 10 per [...]
Simon Burke takes job at mobile vouchers company May 31, 2011 RETAIL stalwart Simon Burke has thrown his weight behind mobile shopping technology, after joining small mobile voucher specialist Eagle Eye Solutions as chairman. Burke, best known for turning around Virgin Megastores and bidding £940m for WH Smith, declared yesterday: “Mobile vouchers are the next big thing in retail and leisure.This technology offers the only easy [...]
Gloomy outlook stokes drop in key bond yields May 31, 2011 CONCERNS over the global recovery have hit benchmark government bond yields in many core Western economies in recent weeks. Rising concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis have combined with surprisingly weak economic data in countries such as the UK and the US to knock investor confidence. In the UK, 10-year notes dropped to 3.29 per [...]
City must engage in debate over Big Society May 30, 2011 LAST week, the coalition government published a White Paper that puts further flesh on the bones of the Prime Minister’s vision for the Big Society. The proposals in the Paper are designed to spur growth in charitable giving and in volunteering. It included an additional £40m in support for the voluntary sector. It is imperative [...]
EBay to urge Ofcom to consider M-commerce in 4G report May 30, 2011 MOBILE shopping could be worth £4.5bn to the UK economy by 2016 and more than £17.5bn by 2021, according to new research by eBay. This represents a four-fold increase over the next five years, with consumers increasingly likely to make purchases using smartphones and tablets. However, the online auction site says the market is “being [...]
RBS taps into China’s investment market May 30, 2011 The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and its local Chinese partner launched their joint venture Huaying Securities yesterday, hoping to tap a piece of the booming investment banking business in the country. “From today, Huaying is licensed to underwrite and sponsor stocks and bonds issued in mainland China, tapping China’s huge and growing investment banking [...]
Canada open to selling Chrysler stake to Fiat May 30, 2011 Canada is open to selling its 1.7 per cent stake in Chrysler directly to Italy’s Fiat, but will wait to see what price the US government gets for its shares in the automaker before deciding, Canada’s finance minister Jim Flaherty said yesterday. Fiat took operational control of Chrysler as part of the Detroit-based automaker’s US [...]
RTL signs Indian joint venture May 30, 2011 RTL Group and Indian media conglomerate Reliance Broadcast Network Limited yesterday announced a joint venture agreement to launch a series of new TV channels in India. The initial investment will include two English-speaking channels; a reality channel with international content and a channel primarily targeting male viewers with action-oriented content. The joint venture will source [...]
Adidas braced for sales dip May 30, 2011 SPORTSWEAR giant Adidas said it is braced for further blows to its sales in Japan if there are more power cuts over the summer. The German company said that although the earthquake and nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant “could have been worse” the state of the country’s power network was unclear. Adidas has said [...]