Sanofi’s £12bn bid is rejected August 30, 2010 FRENCH pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi-Aventis is poised to go hostile with its $18.4bn (£11.9bn) offer for Genzyme after the US biotechnology company again refused to enter talks. Genzyme rejected Sanofi’s $69-per-share approach for the second time yesterday. Boss Henri Termeer said the board was “not prepared to engage in negotiations… based upon an opportunistic proposal with [...]
Bank of Japan eases policy as yen climbs August 30, 2010 THE Bank of Japan (BoJ) boosted its cheap loan scheme yesterday, bowing to government pressure for action to protect a fragile recovery by curbing the yen’s rise, while cabinet ministers signalled they may intervene to weaken the currency. The yen surged more than one percent against the dollar after the central bank beefed up the [...]
Obama speech fails to prop up markets August 30, 2010 US STOCKS accelerated declines yesterday after comments from US President Barack Obama did little to soothe investors anxious over the slowing pace of the recovery. Obama said he and his economic team discussed additional steps to promote economic growth, including looking at tax cuts for businesses. Stocks had been trading lower prior to the comments [...]
Two staunch defenders of the banks make it on to City A.M.’s inaugural awards shortlist August 30, 2010 TWO personalities who have fought steadfastly for the interests of banks have made it onto the shortlist to win City A.M.’s personality of the year, one of the biggest prizes at October’s City A.M. awards. Mayor of London Boris Johnson was chosen for springing to the defence of the banks in the aftermath of the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES OSBORNE PLANS TREASURY STAFF CUTS George Osborne is planning to cut staff numbers at the Treasury by about one-quarter and scale back his department’s role as he attempts to lead by example in the search for sweeping spending cuts across Whitehall. The chancellor will reconvene the public spending “star chamber” this week and [...]
BHP Billiton denies Potash break-up talk August 30, 2010 MINER BHP Billiton insisted yesterday it has no plans to sell off parts of Canadian fertiliser firm Potash, after an errant analyst note sparked a scramble for Potash’s smaller divisions. The mining giant was forced to restate its ambitions after Canadian agriculture firm Agrium told the press it was keen to buy Potash’s phosphate and [...]
BA and Unite set to resume strike talks August 30, 2010 British Airways and union Unite, which represents 90 per cent of the airline’s cabin crew, are likely to meet again this week in a bid to end potential strikes that would cause travel chaos. Unite general secretary Tony Woodley was forced to reassure BA staff the union is committed to ending the dispute without damaging [...]
Rio to press on with expansion August 30, 2010 MINING group Rio Tinto signalled yesterday it was pushing ahead with its expansion plans in iron ore while it awaits competition authority clearance to form a partnership with rival BHP in Australia. The firm said it had approved $1.6bn (£1.03bn) to expand its Hopes Downs iron ore mine project in Western Australia, with first production [...]
Mining boost for Australia August 30, 2010 MASSIVE gains from mining and financial firms carried Australia’s corporate profit to a record jump last quarter. Company profits rose by 18.9 per cent compared with the previous quarter to a seasonally-adjusted A$68.5bn (£39.5bn), the Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. Mining profit rose 62.7 per cent on the last quarter, reflecting rising commodity prices, [...]
Intel snaps up Infineon’s wireless arm August 30, 2010 Intel is to buy German chipmaker Infineon’s wireless unit for $1.4bn (£900m) as it seeks to claw its way into the booming smartphone market and reduce its reliance on PCs. The move, agreed yesterday, is the second major deal for Intel in two weeks. The company has already announced a $7.7bn deal for security software [...]
