L’Occitane majority shareholder cashes in £86m worth of its shares December 12, 2010 L’OCCITANE International said its controlling shareholder has sold $136m (£86m) worth of its shares at HK$21.14 (£1.72) each, or a 1.9 per cent discount to Friday’s closing price, in a share placement. The French skincare products retailer said the share sale allowed its controlling shareholder, the L’Occitane Groupe (LOG), to monetise a small portion of [...]
PwC accused of Iceland failure December 12, 2010 PwC has been accused of failing to spot weaknesses in the Icelandic banking sector on numerous occasion before it imploded in 2008. Collapsed lenders were found by the Icelandic special prosecutor to have been involved in largescale irregular financial activities, including overstating their financial stability. The investigators said PwC should have noticed the erroneous announcements.
Orchid invests £3.6m in Sky 3D December 12, 2010 The Orchid Group yesterday announced it will invest £3.6m upgrading all of its TV content to Sky 3D and Sky+HD. The move will see the technology installed in all 300 of its premises, which include Bar Room Bar, The Oriental Restaurant Group and The Living Room. Rufus Hall, chief executive of The Orchid Group said: [...]
Narnia film claims shaky win December 12, 2010 The third movie in the shaky Narnia fantasy franchise took the top spot at the worldwide box office yesterday despite a soft start in North America. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader sold $105.5m (£66.8m) worth of tickets globally, distributor 20th Century Fox said.
ALL CHANGE FOR FRIENDS PROVIDENT December 12, 2010 Insurance firm Friends Provident is set to move into new offices above the One New Change shopping centre next year, sources confirmed yesterday. The company is set to take around 50,000 square feet of space for £52.50 per square foot at the new development. Developer Land Securities declined to comment.
Davies report to shy away from quotas December 12, 2010 THE DEPARTMENT for Business, Innovation and Skills insisted yesterday that its review into women on company boards will only push for a mandatory quota system as a last resort. Lord Davies’ review into boardroom diversity could instead recommend an internship scheme to encourage a wider range of people to take up directorships, a spokesperson said [...]
EU bonus rules make London uncompetitive December 12, 2010 Last Friday, the EU outlined its latest proposals governing the payment of bonuses that will eventually be enacted as law in each of the 27 Member States. These laws will be amongst the most restrictive in the world – limiting cash bonuses, imposing a deferral period on the payment of bonuses and, most controversially, allowing [...]
Saudis keen to hold oil at $70 December 12, 2010 LEADING Opec producer Saudi Arabia said this weekend it still favoured a $70 (£44.27) to $80 price range for oil, extending a two year policy of price control. The statement by Saudi Oil minister Ali al-Naimi at an Opec meeting on Saturday will come as a relief to consumer nations in the West, worried that [...]
Unite opposes De La Rue sale December 12, 2010 UNITE the union said it was drawing up plans to defend the world’s biggest currency printer De La Rue this weekend from a renewed takeover bid from French rival Oberthur Technologies. Last week, De La Rue admitted it had received an offer of £900m from the French printing firm but said it had almost immediately [...]
Obama to talk to US bosses on economy December 12, 2010 US President Barack Obama will hold a one-day summit of chief executives on Wednesday as part of a renewed effort by the White House to build support from among business leaders for his economic agenda. The administration expects bosses from Google, Cisco Systems, International Business Machines, American Express, Dow Chemical and Pepsico to attend the [...]
