Japan’s Marubeni enters bidding in Kwik-Fit auction November 22, 2010 TYRE firm Kwik-Fit may be snapped up by Japanese giant Marubeni. Marubeni, which employs 29,000 people and is one of the largest general trading companies in Japan, was previously keen to acquire the tyre wholesaler Micheldever. But exclusive talks with Graphite Capital broke down after Marubeni dropped its offer from the agreed £200m. Now it [...]
Delia fattens Waitrose with cake November 22, 2010 Waitrose grocery sales rose four per cent in the 12 weeks to October 31 – lifted by swift sales of Delia Smith’s ready-to-make Christmas cake kit. The UK cook has in the past caused a run on ingredients like eggs, stout and goose fat, after championing them in her recipes. Earlier this year Waitrose ran [...]
Brisa may buy back shares November 22, 2010 Portuguese motorway operator Brisa may buy back its own shares in the market soon and will maintain its dividend policy for the next five years, the company said in a statement yesterday. In the document, Brisa outlined some strategic guidelines, including the “possibility of, in the short term, acquiring treasury shares up to the limit [...]
Reed Elsevier halts private equity talks November 22, 2010 PUBLISHING group Reed Elsevier has broken off early-stage talks with private equity groups Cinven and Apax over the disposal of its events branch, it emerged over the weekend, following takeover rumours on Friday that sent the shares up sharply. Cinven and Apax are thought to have approached the firm several months ago about buying the [...]
Latvia is the Baltic beacon of budget busting November 22, 2010 Ihave spent the past week in Eastern Europe trying to learn something about the right way to impose fiscal austerity. The region throws up some fascinating examples that Dublin could learn from. The most illuminating of my destinations turned out to be Latvia. Much has been written about the Baltic state that delivered the worst [...]
Obama heads for internal conflict over the heated issue of tax cut eligibility November 22, 2010 PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats in the US Congress, many upset with him for election losses, are in disarray over what to do about tax cuts for millions of Americans that are set to expire on December 31. With time running out and high political and economic stakes, Obama is pushing Democratic leaders to determine [...]
Westfield sells half stake in Stratford City retailing November 22, 2010 AUSTRALIAN shopping-mall owner Westfield Group is selling a stake in its Stratford City development in London to Dutch and Canadian pension funds for £871.5m, Westfield has revealed. The company said it had agreed to sell a 50 per cent stake in the retail component of the development, which is being built next to the site [...]
HIGH TAXES DON’T SCARE BUFFETT November 22, 2010 Billionaire Warren Buffett rebutted claims that the Obama administration is unjustly hurting business orders with high taxes and said instead that the wealthy should pay more in tax.”I think that people at the high end, people like myself, should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we’ve ever had it,” [...]
Nestle alters sales policy November 22, 2010 Nestle has said it will change its sales recognition policy effective 1 January 2011, bringing it in line with International Financial Reporting Standards. Reported sales will drop by around 15 per cent as expenses like discounts and retailer promotions will be deducted from sales, leading to a corresponding increase in profit margins. However, the change [...]
Britain could get train upgrade November 22, 2010 Britain will replace its ageing Intercity Express trains with high speed electric trains, at a cost of £7.5bn, said newspaper reports yesterday. The department for transport refused to comment on the story, which appeared in the Sunday Times, and said an announcement if necessary would be made in due course. The report named Hitachi and [...]
