Uniq trustees may sell firm March 31, 2011 Chilled sandwich-maker Uniq could be put up for sale today by its pension trustees, who recently took control of the embattled firm. In February Uniq agreed to cede 90 per cent of its shares to its pension scheme in order to escape the burden of the size of the pension fund which is larger than [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 31, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TOPAZ POSTPONES $1.7BN FLOTATION Topaz Energy & Marine, one of the biggest oilfield service companies in the Middle East, has pulled its $1.7bn flotation in London less than a month after announcing its intention to list, becoming the latest corporate victim of the civil unrest sweeping the region. Oman’s Renaissance Services blamed the [...]
Flat rate pension to be £155 March 31, 2011 The government will next week unveil plans to reform the state pension, with a new flat-rate of £155 a week starting as soon as 2015. This is a step up from the current state pension which is topped up from £97.65 a week to a minimum of £132.06 a week. The sum is higher than [...]
US Boeing subsidies ruled illegal March 31, 2011 EU trade chief Karel De Gucht said yesterday a World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade panel ruling found US airline Boeing had received huge illegal subsidies from the US government, and that such support had caused substantial harm to EU interests. De Gucht called on the United States to work with the European Union on a [...]
Middle East worries push oil even higher March 31, 2011 OIL prices jumped to their highest close in two and a half years yesterday, with Brent near a record quarterly rise of more than $22. The news follows further unrest across the Middle East. US officials said President Barack Obama has now authorised covert support for Libyan rebels fighting Gaddafi. The defection of Libya’s foreign [...]
Terra Firma mulls a sale of its Odeon and UCI brands March 31, 2011 Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma is mulling the sale of its Odeon and UCI cinema business. Speculation over a possible sale has surrounded the cinema brands for months, with rival private equity player BC Partners thought to be interested. City A.M. understands a sale is one of several options for the firm, with [...]
Government to take control of Japan’s Tepco March 31, 2011 Japan’s government plans to take control of Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of a stricken nuclear power plant, by injecting public funds. But the government is unlikely to take more than a 50 per cent stake in the company, according to an unnamed government official. The company, also known as Tepco, has come under fire [...]
BORIS Vs BLOOMBERG March 31, 2011 BORIS Johnson yesterday hit back at New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, accusing him of trying to pinch London-based Barclays bank. Johnson said it would be a “tragedy” if London were to lose Barclays, and pointed out the bank had shown its commitment to the capital by sponsoring his flagship “Boris bike” cycle hire scheme. “This [...]
Google faces Microsoft ire March 31, 2011 Microsoft has stepped up its rivalry with Google, claiming in its first-ever complaint to antitrust regulators that the internet giant systematically thwarts search competition. In its complaint to the European Commission, Microsoft claims Google engages in a “pattern of actions” that unfairly impede competition. The court documents include allegations that Google “walls off” content on [...]
Government awards prison contracts to G4S and Serco March 31, 2011 KEN CLARKE, the justice secretary, yesterday said he had awarded contracts to run two prisons to security services firm G4S and had given one prison contract to outsourcing group Serco. The Ministry of Justice gave no value for the deals, but said the outsourcing of the management of the three prisons would save £216m over [...]
