Harrods quells speculation on takeover bid March 30, 2010 HARRODS, London’s iconic luxury department store, confirmed yesterday that it is not up for sale, following speculation over a takeover approach from a Gulf-based investor. “We have been aware of gossip circulating over a possible sale, and we took the decision to reassure staff this morning that this was not the case,” Harrods said. “We [...]
Northern Rock shares worthless March 30, 2010 Former shareholders of Northern Rock are to be left with nothing after the mortgage lender’s independent valuer confirmed the company’s shares were worthless and there was no requirement to pay compensation to those who lost money when the government seized control of the business. In a report yesterday, independent valuer Andrew Caldwell of BDO said [...]
HSBC raises $580m for fund March 30, 2010 HSBC has raised $580m (£384m) for a new infrastructure fund to invest in public-private partnership projects such as hospitals, prisons, offices, transport and housing. HSBC put $150m towards the fund, which will concentrate on investing in projects in their early stages, then selling them once they are up and running. The fundraising target is $1bn.
Car scrappage scheme ends March 30, 2010 The vehicle scrappage scheme brought in last year to boost consumption and protect jobs ends today after contributing to a fifth of new car registrations since its launch, the government said. The scheme gave motorists £2,000 to trade in cars more than 10 years old for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The £400m initiative has helped [...]
IRENE’S SWEET PICKINGS March 30, 2010 KRAFT Foods chief executive Irene Rosenfeld, who led the successful takeover of Cadbury earlier this year, saw her pay package rise by 41 per cent to $26.3m (£17.4m). Her pay partly reflected her role in leading the bid which transformed the group’s portfolio creating the world’s largest confectioner.
Investec buys up remainder of Rensburg March 30, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec yesterday said it will stump up a hefty premium to acquire the remainder of Rensburg Sheppards, the fund manager in which it already holds a 47 per cent stake. Investec, which merged its private-client stockbroking business Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite with Rensburg in 2005, will pay 1.63 new shares of its own [...]
GDP rebound even stronger March 30, 2010 BRITAIN staged an even stronger rebound out of recession than had previously been thought, official revisions to fourth quarter GDP data showed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics raised the quarterly growth estimate to 0.4 per cent from 0.3 per cent at the second revision and 0.1 per cent at the initial publication. While the [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS BRITAIN ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY? March 30, 2010 EDWARD LONG | AMLIN “The recovery is still not as quick as it should be. Although the rise in GDP is encouraging, the government should be focusing on issues that are important to the public rather than what’s popular, like bankers’ bonuses.” STEVE HARRY | MARSH “Although things are ok at the moment, there is [...]
House prices rise but double dip fears persist March 30, 2010 HOUSE prices managed to rise 0.7 per cent in March on the previous month, mortgage lender Nationwide reported yesterday. However, the gain did little to dispel fears of a double-dip in the housing market as buyers exercise caution ahead of the election. Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at Nationwide, said: “The last two months are consistent [...]
Top manager in Gartmore investigation March 30, 2010 GUILLAUME Rambourg, the high-flying European equities fund manager suspended by Gartmore for breaching the firm’s internal trading procedures, is no stranger to controversy. Rambourg and a former Gartmore analyst, Vanni Vecchini, were fined €300,000 (£267,280) by the Italian financial regulator in 2006 for buying stock in Banca Italease with his hedge fund ahead of a [...]
