Kloppers won’t fall into the bid trap August 25, 2010 BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers was determined yesterday to play down fears that he is about to over-pay for PotashCorp, the Canadian fertiliser group. As Kloppers unveiled healthy annual results, most people’s minds were focused on what he had to say about the group’s pursuit of Potash, for which he has made a $39bn bid. [...]
Nadir is back after 17 years August 25, 2010 ASIL NADIR, the multimillionaire businessman, who fled the UK after facing a series of significant fraud charges, is to return after almost two decades to face the courtroom. Nadir will arrive at Luton from his native North Cyprus today to face multimillion-pound fraud charges linked to the collapse of his Polly Peck business, according to [...]
Unions set Tube strike dates August 25, 2010 Transport unions RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) yesterday confirmed dates for a series of 24-hour strikes to be launched by 10,000 London Underground staff in what will bring severe disruption to London’s commuters. The unions said the first staff walk out will start at 5pm on 6 September, with similar action planned [...]
Plus gets derivatives facelift August 25, 2010 Plus Markets, the small-cap listing and price-reporting platform, is to relaunch as a full blown derivatives and stock exchange. The move, which is part of a strategy set out in March, will put Plus against the London Stock Exchange, Chi-X Europe and similar trading venues.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES US CHAINS BEEF UP MEALS TO LIFT PROFITS Fast-food chains in the US are rolling out more expensive premium products after two years of relentless focus on lower priced meals in the hope of recouping profit margins surrendered during the recession of 2008 and 2009. McDonald’s is selling a “smokehouse deluxe” burger in [...]
Breeden hurt as Xchanging PR push fails August 25, 2010 HEDGE fund boss Richard Breeden was burned by a second support services company yesterday as a badly-timed PR move by Xchanging wiped 11 per cent from its market value. Breeden European Partners saw £158m shaved from its stake in the outsourcing provider as nervy investors fled the stock. Just a fortnight ago, Breeden crystallised a [...]
FSA says banking trading warrants tougher action August 25, 2010 ENDING the regulatory dividing line between a bank’s trading and core books would price risk better and help avoid public bailouts sparked by the financial crisis, the markets watchdog said yesterday. The Financial Services Authority unveiled a 126-page discussion paper looking at approaches to tightening up the rules, that would prevent banks from exploiting differences [...]
ABI struggles to save UK insurers from US rules August 25, 2010 UK life insurers could be hit with tens of millions of pounds of costs if they are forced to comply with tough regulations on tax evasion being drafted by US authorities. Companies such as Aviva, Old Mutual and Prudential would be forced to report the tax details of their US account holders every year under [...]
Tullow slides on Ugandan project delay August 25, 2010 OIL explorer Tullow faced tough questions over its plans in Uganda yesterday, as shares dipped despite a 152 per cent increase in pre-tax profit in the last six months. Its $10bn (£6.6bn) project on oil fields once owned by Heritage stalled in January, after the Ugandan government disputed Heritage’s capital gains tax payments on the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO TODAY’S RESULTS MEAN FOR TULLOW? August 25, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK The interim results from Tullow were in line with expectations. However, the commentary on Uganda is less positive. While today’s news is frustrating, we believe the potential upside from the region remains intact. IVOR PETHER | ROYAL LONDON ASSET MANAGEMENT There isn’t an awful lot to say about the results, but [...]
