New chief for jeweller Signet September 29, 2010 Jewellery giant Signet has appointed the president of watch brand Fossil as its new chief executive. Mike Barnes will replace Terry Burman, who is retiring next January after ten years at the helm of the Anglo-American company, which owns H Samuel and Ernest Jones in the UK. Barnes joins on 1 December and will be [...]
SAINSBURY’S OPENS BIGGEST EVER STORE September 29, 2010 Sainsbury’s, headed by Justin King (inset), yesterday opened its largest store under plans to increase its UK floorspace. The supermarket, in Crayford, near Dartford, is more than 100,000 square feet, and will dedicate half its space to food and drink products. The retailer also opened its largest store in Scotland at Darnley, which is 90,000 [...]
Nintendo 3DS not ready in time for Xmas September 29, 2010 NINTENDO has failed in its bid to rush its new 3DS handheld games console out in time for Christmas. The Japanese firm announced yesterday the device, which claims to create a 3D effect without the need for glasses, will be released in February in its home country and March in Europe and the US. The [...]
HP reassures investors but new boss still elusive September 29, 2010 HP YESTERDAY told investors to expect growth to continue despite the firm limping on without a permanent chief executive. Former boss Mark Hurd, 53, was forced to resign almost two months ago after it was found $20,000 (£12,500) of expense claims in his name were inaccurate. It then emerged the married chief executive had been [...]
Ambac sues Bank of America over mortgages September 29, 2010 AMBAC Financial Group has sued Bank of America Corp, alleging a “massive fraud” that caused it several hundred million dollars of losses from insuring mortgage securities that went sour. In a complaint filed Tuesday in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Ambac said the bank’s Countrywide mortgage unit misled it about loan quality [...]
South African union opposes Wal-Mart deal September 29, 2010 SOUTH Africa’s biggest union is opposing Wal-Mart’s attempt to buy Massmart for over $4bn (£2.5bn). The Western Cape branch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called on the government to block the sale of the “key strategic national company”. “We will oppose the setting up of any Walmart stores in the Western Cape. [...]
Sanofi eyes higher Genzyme bid September 29, 2010 SANOFI-AVENTIS is considering whether to raise its $18.5bn (£12bn) bid for US drugmaker Genzyme as soon as next week. France’s largest drugmaker is said to be leaning towards raising the $69-a-share offer by $1 or $2 a share. It has not ruled out a hostile bid but would prefer friendly negotiations, it is understood. Sanofi [...]
Spyker to use BMW’s engines in new Sabb September 29, 2010 LOSS-MAKING Swedish carmaker Saab is to use BMW engines in a move by Dutch owner Spyker to help boost its recovery and appeal. Undercapitalised Spyker Cars, which bought Saab in February from General Motors for $400m (£294m), said yesterday the luxury German group will supply four-cylinder 1.6 litre turbocharged gasoline engines for its new 9-3 [...]
Warren Buffett considers increasing his stake in Chinese carmaker BYD September 29, 2010 BILLIONAIRE investor Warren Buffett has discussed the possibility of raising his 10 per cent stake in car and battery maker BYD. In the past week, analysts and investors have speculated that Buffett, who is making a closely watched tour of China with former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, might instead sell down his stake after the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 29, 2010 STANDARD LIFE JP Morgan Cazenove revisits its investment thesis on Standard Life and increases its rating to “neutral” from “underweight”. The broker can see the potential in what Standard Life is trying to do with its structural changes and says that if the insurer is successful, it should leave the group well positioned in the [...]
