Bellway December 7, 2010 After a tough autumn for its shares, in part due to the fiscal crunch, Bellway looks well-priced in light of its third-quarter interim statement. Despite the fall in year-on-year unit sales, it beat consensus expectations and analysts are still setting their target price higher than its 612.5p close yesterday. The company has issued guidance suggesting [...]
Oberthur to take its bid to shareholders December 7, 2010 FRENCH firm Oberthur Technologies is set to continue un-deterred in its attempts to buy UK money printer De La Rue, despite the rejection of its bid on Monday. Analysts are now anticipating a possible bidding war to take off over the next week, with German money printer Giesecke & Devrient named as a possible rival. [...]
Longer deals for rail firms December 7, 2010 TRAIN companies are to get longer franchises in return for cutting costs under plans unveiled yesterday by the government. Ministers plan to offer 15-year-minimum contracts for rail franchises in 2012 and 2013, although some companies will receive short-term franchises in particular circumstances. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said an interim report from a government-sponsored rail industry review [...]
GlaxoSmithKline looks towards China with £44.4m acquisition December 7, 2010 PHARMA’S expansion to the east took another step forwards yesterday with the news that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to acquire Chinese company Nanjing MeiRui Pharma (MeiRui). GSK will spend $70m (£44.4m) on the acquisition, as it continues to invest in emerging markets. China is “one of the fastest growing and most significant of the emerging markets,” [...]
TRAIN STRIKE LOOMS IN SOUTH-EAST December 7, 2010 A RAIL strike on trains run by Go-Ahead Group’s Southeastern franchise is looming after leaders of the Rail, Maritime & Transport union announced plans to ballot members over alleged proposals to axe jobs and reduce the role of rail team leaders at Charing Cross and Victoria stations. RMT boss Bob Crow said Southeastern was about to [...]
San Leon Energy in £60m fundraising December 7, 2010 AIM-listed oil and gas exploration company San Leon Energy yesterday announced it has raised £59.6m through a new share placement. The firm says it will use the proceeds of the placing to fund an extensive seismic and drilling programme over the next 18 months, including the drilling of up to 17 wells. The funds will [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE OVERDRAFT CHARGES TOO HIGH? December 7, 2010 MARK GIRARDOT | HOWDEN Yes, the rates are too high; it’s daylight robbery. It’s just wrong. It’s unethical. I don’t see how they could be in such dire financial straits that they need to do this, since they have just paid some very large bonuses to their employees.” GRAHAM NISBET | LLOYDS BANKING GROUP I [...]
Tesco in Asia lift as UK also bounces back December 7, 2010 TESCO yesterday reported an 8.8 per sales cent rise in the third quarter helped by a strong performance from international stores. The supermarket chain said it was performing in line with expectations while its market share was being boosted by the opening of more store space. Total international sales jumped by 15.7 per cent while [...]
Chains boosted by festive spending on crisps and drink December 7, 2010 SALES of groceries at the major supermarket chains jumped in the final weeks of November, in a boost for the retail sector. J Sainsbury was the strongest performer with 6.8 per cent growth. There was 4.8 per cent growth on average across the board, according to the figures from retail analysts Nielsen. Chains outside the [...]
Microsoft Xbox Kinect proving Christmas hit December 7, 2010 THE Microsoft XBox Kinect is “flying off the shelves” according to Tesco. In its quarterly figures yesterday the retailer picked out the product as the one that is driving sales outside its more traditional groceries. The company said the gaming system, which responds to body movements to allow the player to play virtual games, is [...]
