Cable U-Turn over uni fees October 12, 2010 VINCE Cable, the business secretary, yesterday completed a remarkable volte-face on university tuition fees and threw his weight behind Lord Browne’s report, which has recommended a massive rise in student contributions. Cable also dropped his long-time support for a graduate tax, insisting that it was simply “not feasible” given the parlous state of the country’s [...]
Lions Gate eyes a merger with MGM October 12, 2010 AMERICAN film studio Lions Gate Entertainment proposed a merger with troubled rival Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) yesterday, in a move to end months of tussling over the ownership of both firms. Lions Gate’s biggest shareholder, corporate activist Carl Icahn, gave the merger offer his blessing yesterday, saying in a statement that such a deal would [...]
Russian rail group plans London IPO October 12, 2010 RUSSIAN transport group TransContainer is poised to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow and London, in a bid to raise as much as $500m (£317m). TransContainer, a subsidiary of the state-owned Russian Railways group, will float 35 per cent of its equity, or 4,863,170 shares. Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin signed [...]
CAR TALK October 12, 2010 ASTON’S NEW CITY CAR Aston Martin’s “premium, bespoke commuter car” and its most controversial car ever, the Cygnet luxury city car, is to go into production in 2011 at the company’s Gaydon headquarters. Targeted at Aston owners who only drive their sports cars at the weekend, Aston Martin hopes it will keep Aston owners driving [...]
Intel offers upbeat sales forecast for fourth quarter October 12, 2010 INTEL forecast strong fourth-quarter sales and margins as resilient demand from emerging markets and corporations offset weak consumer spending, raising hopes that the technology sector could end 2010 on a strong note. Intel’s forecast for a better-than-expected December quarter gross margin of around 67 per cent affirmed hopes that higher-end spending on servers or data [...]
BP venture to pay highest ever dividend October 12, 2010 TNK-BP HOLDING, the publicly traded part of BP’s joint venture in Russia, said yesterday it has recommended a record-high interim dividend of 124bn roubles (£2.6bn). Russia’s third-biggest oil company, which elected former BP chief executive Tony Hayward to its board last month, has recommended the payout in what several analysts said is a move to [...]
OPEC raises oil demand forecast October 12, 2010 OIL cartel OPEC said the world will need 100,000 barrels of oil a day more than previously forecast this year, thanks to a stronger than expected global economy supported by government stimuli. The group, which represents 12 oil-rich countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America, predicted that the world needs an extra 1.1m [...]
US lifts its ban on Gulf drilling early but toughens up regulation October 12, 2010 THE AMERICAN government lifted its ban on deepwater drilling yesterday, weeks ahead of its 30 November deadline. The Obama administration said drilling can resume once companies comply with new drilling rules and show they have adequate blow-out containment resources. The ban was put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April, which killed 11 [...]
JUDGEMENT DAY October 12, 2010 LIVERPOOL fans, players and directors are on tenterhooks this morning as they await a momentous and potentially historic High Court judgement that has huge ramifications for the club’s future. At 10:30am the judge, Mr Justice Floyd, is due to deliver his verdict on the civil war that has engulfed Anfield and now threatens to see [...]
Pfizer buys King to beef up portfolio October 12, 2010 PFIZER is to buy drug manufacturer King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6bn (£2.26m) to strengthen its portfolio before key patents on drugs such as its flagship cholesterol-reducer Lipitor expire next year. The world’s biggest pharmaceutical company will pay $14.25 (£8.95) per share for King from existing cash, a 40 per cent premium on King’s closing share price [...]
