Tensions escalate in Gaza November 14, 2012 ISRAEL launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza yesterday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave. The operation, dubbed “Pillar of Defence” by the Israeli military, followed five days of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes at militant targets.
Entrepreneurialawards aplenty November 14, 2012 MORE entrepreneurial talent was being celebrated over on Park Lane on Tuesday evening, at the 2012 National Business Awards. The 11th annual ceremony at the Grosvenor hotel was opened with a video message from Prime Minister David Cameron, and followed by a speech from Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury. Motivational speaking, not that [...]
Queen salutes Enterprise Award winners at Buckingham Palace November 14, 2012 ENTREPRENEURIAL awards season is upon us again. At the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise at Buckingham Palace earlier this week, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh congratulated representatives of the 209 winners in the palace’s ballroom. The awards, which have been operating in various forms since 1966, this year had 862 entrants from all over [...]
Asian ambition risks a Prudential departure November 14, 2012 PRUDENTIAL boss Tidjane Thiam failed in his bid for AIG’s Asian insurance arm AIA in 2010, but yesterday’s third quarter numbers show the insurer has not turned its back on Asia’s opportunities. Far from it, with the Asian part of the business showing £828m new business profit in the year to date, as against £683m [...]
Starbucks snaps up Teavana November 14, 2012 Starbucks plans to acquire tea store operator Teavana Holdings for $620m (£391m) in cash, furthering its push beyond its flagship coffee business. Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee shop operator, said it will pay $15.50 per share in cash for Teavana, a 54 per cent premium to the firm’s closing price on the New York Stock [...]
Finsbury Food invests in cake November 14, 2012 Cake and bread maker Finsbury Food said yesterday it would use £3.9m raised via a placing of around 10.4m new shares at 38p each to invest in its cake business. It said it would invest the money in new machinery, thus reducing the cost of manufacturing. It forecasts annual savings of around £2m as a [...]
SSE hits back after its adjusted earnings rise November 14, 2012 ENERGY giant SSE talked down its surging adjusted profits and increased dividend yesterday, pointing to volatility during the year. Adjusted profit before tax, which strips out exceptional items, rose 38.3 per cent to £397.5m for the six months to September. But SSE made a statutory pre-tax loss of £26.8m, up from a £81.3m loss a [...]
Fitness First results show no gain without pain November 14, 2012 FITNESS FIRST, the embattled health club chain, has slumped to a £672m loss after painful restructuring earlier this year that saw it narrowly miss going into administration. Club closures and one-off accounting charges have dragged the group to a pre-tax loss of £671.5m in the year to 31 October from an £82.9m loss last year. [...]
Liontrust sinks its teeth into market to attract more money November 14, 2012 SMALL scale asset manager Liontrust yesterday continued its march forward after it moved into the third consecutive year of customers’ giving it more money to manage. The fund manager, which is half owned by several asset managers including Schroders and Henderson, posted its ninth consecutive quarter of inflows as it announced its interim results yesterday. [...]
Great Portland raises £140m for shopping spree in the West End November 14, 2012 GREAT PORTLAND Estates yesterday announced it had raised £140.6m from a placing of shares that will help fuel another shopping spree in London’s West End. The London-focused developer, which already owns swathes of West End property, said it plans to use the proceeds to buy “unloved assets”, let on cheap rents which it can refurbish [...]
