Oz mining tax under threat August 18, 2010 MINING groups are nervously awaiting the results of a closely fought election in Australia, as current Prime Minister and mining tax enthusiast Julia Gillard fights to keep her job. Gillard travelled to Western Australia yesterday, where the 30 per cent mining supertax is set to come into force in 2012, to appeal to voters ahead [...]
Poison pill still a headache for BHP’s bid August 18, 2010 BHP BILLITON’s $40bn (£25.6bn) bid for PotashCorp could yet hit a hurdle because of the Canadian fertiliser giant’s “poison pill” defence, it emerged yesterday. BHP is waiting on the details of the shareholder rights plan implemented by PotashCorp on Tuesday, but the global miner could have to go to court to overturn the measure if [...]
BHP Billiton August 18, 2010 AS the late Wall Street legend Bruce Wasserstein was famed for saying, it’s time for BHP Billiton’s advisers to start “bidding ‘em up”. Because there is quite simply no way the miner will get its hands on Canada’s Potash for $130 (£83.32) a share, an offer that values the fertiliser giant at around $40bn. There’s [...]
FTSE falls as economic woes hit banks and commoditiesTHE LONDON REPORT August 18, 2010 Banks and commodity stocks pushed Britain’s top shares lower yesterday, with worries over the global economic recovery knocking sentiment and weak volumes exacerbating stock moves as the FTSE 100 remained range-bound. The FTSE 100 closed down 47.68 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,302.87 after ending 1.4 per cent higher on Tuesday at 5,350.55 for [...]
Consumer stocks lift relieved Wall St August 18, 2010 WALL Street rose yesterday, led by gains in consumer stocks after a sales forecast from discounter Target temporarily quelled concerns about consumer demand. Shares of Target rose 2.5 per cent to $51.95 after the company said it expects same-store sales to increase one per cent to three per cent in the third quarter and be [...]
Henderson set for more M&A August 18, 2010 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN fund manager Henderson Global Investors said yesterday it was open to fresh acquisition opportunities, when announcing outflows accelerated in the second quarter on volatile markets and fragile confidence. Henderson – which bought New Star last year – also said underlying first-half pre-tax profit rose 79 per cent to £48.5m ($65m). That compared with its [...]
Arsenal to try Barca-style fan ownership scheme August 18, 2010 RANK-and-file fans will be given the chance to own a stake in Arsenal under a new Fanshare scheme designed to fend off a takeover. With regular shares trading as high as £10,000 they have been prohibitively expensive for most supporters. The new scheme will split the shares up into 100 parts and offer fans the [...]
FINANCE BOSS SAYS SORRY FOR HITLER GAG August 18, 2010 AN UPDATE on the saga of Stephen Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group chief executive who ruffled a feather or two recently by comparing the plight of the private equity industry to the Second World War. The ever-outspoken Schwarzman, peeved at the ongoing battle between US politicians and the sector over increasing its tax burden, claimed: “It’s [...]
Shareholdersshow disdain for Dell chief August 18, 2010 DELL founder Michael Dell survived an investor savaging during his re-election to chief executive, with more than a quarter of voters withholding their support. Shareholders are furious at the firm’s fall from being the biggest computer manufacturer in the world to its current third place behind Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Acer. Dell’s stock is down more [...]
Kiss collapse causes panic August 18, 2010 THE demise of the travel company Kiss Flights has put thousands of holidaymakers’ plans in jeopardy. The announcement yesterday that the company had stopped trading came as 13,000 customers were still abroad and a further 60,000 have already paid for trips. The news that Kiss had followed in the footsteps of Goldtrail and Sun 4 [...]
