ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO OFGEM’S PLANS MEAN FOR THE BIG SIX? March 21, 2011 KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The awkward balance between shareholders, customers and required asset investments continues to generate stresses in the UK, which are being magnified by the rising oil price. While power companies provide attraction for investors consensus opinion is for now, broadly neutral. Emerging markets are also increasing demand. TINA COOK | CHARLES [...]
McLaren hope car changes will boost performance by one second March 21, 2011 MCLAREN team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes this season’s car will be one second faster on Sunday in Australia than in the final pre-season test in Barcelona. Whitmarsh says dramatic alterations have been made to the car after it had been struggling behind both Red Bull and Ferrari in practice. Speaking ahead of the season’s first [...]
Grant pleads not guilty to FA charge March 21, 2011 WEST HAM manager Avram Grant has denied a charge of improper conduct relating to comments made about referee Mike Jones following the FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Stoke on 13 March. A personal hearing will be scheduled at a date no later than 7 April. Following the 2-1 defeat, Grant was unhappy with Jones’ handling [...]
Henson hopes for Toulon debut March 21, 2011 RUGBY UNION: Wales star Gavin Henson is hoping to make his long-awaited Toulon debut at the weekend after recovering from a calf injury. Henson has not played for his new club since joining from Saracens in February He said: “I feel really good. I hope over the next few days I can build up my training and [...]
JJB landlord refuses CVA March 21, 2011 ONE of sports retailer JJB’s major landlords refuses to back the struggling firm’s last-ditch attempt to avoid administration, City A.M. can reveal, putting the success of today’s company voluntary agreement (CVA) vote to the wire. Land Securities, which leases around eight stores to JJB, has told other landlords it will vote against the controversial CVA [...]
Gem shares sparkle on Lucara talks March 21, 2011 RARE diamond producer Gem is in early-stage takeover talks with Africa-focused rival Lucara Diamond, it confirmed yesterday. London-listed Gem, which told investors last week it was eyeing acquisitions for growth, said any deal would currently be classed as a reverse takeover because recent reserve statements show its assets to be lower than Lucara’s. But Gem [...]
Tough draw for O’Sullivan March 21, 2011 SNOOKER: Ronnie O’ Sullivan and John Higgins were handed tough first-round draws for this year’s World Snooker Championship. O’Sullivan will face Dominic Dale, while Higgins will be tested by Stephen Lee.
Ofcom to lay out spectrum auction plans March 21, 2011 OFCOM will this morning announce plans for the largest ever single auction of mobile spectrum in the UK. Spectrum – the waves that mobile phones transmit on – is in huge demand by operators after the explosion in data traffic, which has heaped pressure on their networks. The last spectrum auction, at the height of [...]
Investors clash over AssetCo March 21, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS at fire enginemaker AssetCo clashed with former owner Pelham Olive over raising cash for the business yesterday. Three of Assetco’s large shareholders said they were willing to provide it with new funding via a share placement if it appoints a new executive chairman, but its existing chief executive, John Shannon, and Olive opposed the [...]
Takeover rule changes set to hurt M&A March 21, 2011 COMPANIES launching takeover bids will be subject to stricter timetables and increased disclosure requirements, under new proposals announced by the UK Takeover Panel yesterday. The reforms, which have been planned since criticism of the Kraft takeover of Cadbury in January last year, aim to make the bid process fairer on the target company, but could [...]
