Nasdaq OMX in buyback December 20, 2010 EXCHANGE operator Nasdaq OMX kicked its buyback plan into high gear with a deal to repurchase 11.5 per cent of its outstanding shares from Borse Dubai for $497m (£320.4m) yesterday. The repurchase of 22.8m shares will be funded by a proposed $370m bond sale, the US-based company said yesterday. Nasdaq OMX said it agreed to [...]
Genzyme in push for a higher bid December 20, 2010 GENZYME which is fighting off a hostile $18.5bn (£11.2bn) bid from Sanofi-Aventis, is taking another stab at persuading investors that its experimental multiple sclerosis drug is worth more than Sanofi’s projections. Genzyme, a US-based biotech company that makes drugs for rare diseases, maintains that its Campath drug could generate peak annual sales of $3.5bn. France’s [...]
AT&T to pay Qualcomm $1.9bn in deal December 20, 2010 AT&T plans to buy wireless spectrum from Qualcomm for $1.93bn (£1.24bn) and boost its 4G network, aiming to counter criticism over iPhone service quality and a threat from rivals like Verizon Wireless. AT&T is the sole US carrier for Apple’s iPhone, but smaller rivals like Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have been adopting 4G, a new [...]
Fiat in crucial week of Italian union talks December 20, 2010 ITALIAN carmaker Fiat has entered a crucial week of talks over the future of its historic Mirafiori plant ahead of a self-imposed Christmas deadline to decide whether to stick to planned investments. Fiat unveiled a plan at the end of November to invest more than €1bn (£840m) in its Turin Mirafiori plant to build top-range [...]
Google delays its TV sets December 20, 2010 GOOGLE has asked manufacturers to delay the launch of TV sets based on the internet company’s software. Google sent out word to some hardware makers last week asking them not to announce additional products yet, saying the delay may allow the company to improve its software. However, Samsung Electronics will go ahead with its launch [...]
Red tape stunting UK factory exports December 20, 2010 BRITAIN’S manufacturers are being held back from lucrative export markets, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said yesterday. More than one in four manufacturers does not export at all, and 82 per cent of industry respondents identified export controls as a barrier to trading overseas. “Overly zealous export control rules can stand in the way [...]
Mortgage lending slumps to lowest point for a decade December 20, 2010 MORTGAGE lending has sunk to its lowest level since 2000 for five consecutive months, it was revealed yesterday. In November lending dropped by five per cent to £11.1bn compared to the previous month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). A huge 10 per cent drop from last year’s November figures is partly accounted [...]
Relapse for consumer confidence in the Eurozone, as trade deficit grows December 20, 2010 HOPES for a retailing resurgence across the Eurozone took a hit yesterday, with news that consumer confidence has dropped more sharply than expected. In November the confidence index rose to a 35-month high, yet appears set to drop in December, according to the European Commission’s “flash” reading. The full reading for the month will be [...]
Tube strike to hit west end sales December 20, 2010 London’s retailers could be severely affected by tube strikes on Boxing Day, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned. Almost one fifth of retail spending takes place in the capital, providing 380,000 jobs, they said. And the strike could damage the industry at a crucial moment, as shops try to tempt customers ahead of the [...]
Hungary Bank continues its feud December 20, 2010 The central bank of Hungary raised interest rates by a quarter of a per cent yesterday, bringing the rate to 5.75 per cent. The hike was attributed to above target consumer price index (CPI) inflation, which hit 4.2 per cent in November. Yet analysts say the rise signals an increase in tensions between the Bank [...]
