Red tape and taxes could stifle London’s recovery May 2, 2011 BURDENSOME regulation and taxes could thwart the City’s ability to spearhead economic recovery in the UK, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) said today. The 50 per cent rate of income tax, immigration quotas, and the Vickers Commission proposals on banking are “likely to constrain financial sector growth,” the CEBR said. “We cannot [...]
Small manufacturers storm ahead but Britain faces gloomy consumer outlook May 2, 2011 SIGNS of economic rebalancing in the UK emerged today, as separate reports showed strong manufacturing contrasting with further gloom over consumer spending. Orders at the UK’s small and medium sized factories grew at their fastest rate for 16 years in the three months to April, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). A positive [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: WILL THE BANK OF ENGLAND HIKE INTEREST RATES THIS WEEK? May 2, 2011 MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “On one side, we believe recent data and surveys do not invalidate the logic of the Bank’s February Inflation Report, which judged that a rate rise around mid-year would be consistent with returning inflation to target over time. On the other hand, we do not actually expect a hike at the [...]
Buffett hits out at former deputy Sokol May 2, 2011 LEGENDARY investor Warren Buffett has admitted personal error in handling his rogue lieutenant David Sokol, the Berkshire Hathaway dealmaker who stands accused of insider trading. The chairman and chief executive of the US firm said he was wrong not to press Sokol about purchases of Lubrizol stock in the run up to its $9bn (£5.4bn) [...]
Arch Coal to buy International May 2, 2011 ARCH Coal, the second largest US coal producer, will buy smaller peer International Coal Group for $3.4bn (£2.04bn), the companies said yesterday. Arch will pay $14.60 per share for International Coal, a 32 per cent premium to the closing stock price on Friday. The companies expect the deal to close in the second quarter. The [...]
RIM unveils new version of its BlackBerry Bold May 2, 2011 BLACKBERRY yesterday unveiled the latest version of its Bold smartphone, the touchscreen 9900. The QWERTY keyboard phone keeps the classic design of previous bold models but works in a 2.8 inch touchscreen. It is the thinnest ever BlackBerry and features a “woven glass” rear and aluminium rim. It works with the latest version of BlackBerry’s [...]
Russian billionaire readies an offer for Warner Music May 2, 2011 RUSSIAN billionaire Len Blavatnik is said to be on the verge of making a binding offer for Warner music, the record label behind Madonna and Oasis, in a deal valued at more than $3bn (£1.8bn). He will lead a consortium of bidders including the Gores brothers, the US billionaire financiers, to buy the company in [...]
Shares in Germany’s Demag Cranes soar as Terex tries a $1.31bn hostile bid May 2, 2011 US CONSTRUCTION machinery maker Terex yesterday made a hostile $1.31bn (£785m) bid for Demag Cranes, as the German company’s shares rose above the offer price on expectations of a bidding war. Terex took its offer directly to shareholders after talks with Demag failed to secure a deal. Terex said it would pay €41.75 (£37.20) per [...]
Facebook worth up to $100bn May 2, 2011 FACEBOOK is on track to top £2bn in earnings this year, according to leaked figures that suggest a $100bn (£60bn) value for the firm. A report in The Wall Street Journal states Facebook’s growth is well above the expectations that circulated when Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies invested in the closely held internet company. [...]
Twitter buys out Tweetdeck May 2, 2011 TWITTER has bought TweetDeck for between $40m and $50m (£30.7m) in a deal expected to be officially announced in the next few days. The agreement, reported by blog site TechCrunch, is thought to include both cash and Twitter stock. TweetDeck – a third-party app designed to integrate with Twitter – filters conversations based on keywords [...]
