CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU STILL DRINKING CHAMPAGNE? March 15, 2010 BRUCE MCDONAGH | CORVIL LATENCY “Now you mention it no, I’ve stopped. On the one hand, I’m watching the pennies, but also I don’t think anyone wants to be the flash guy at the bar buying champagne when both the economic and job markets are still so uncertain.” KEVIN MURPHY | BREWIN DOLPHIN “I don’t [...]
Champagne sales down but Brits still hit bottle March 15, 2010 IMPORTS of champagne plunged by 5m bottles last year as Britons turned to alternatives such as cava and prosecco. The 15 per cent slump from 35.98 to 30.52m bottles was the lowest since 2002. With the fall in sterling, importers were hit and the recession also took its toll on customers. At the same time, [...]
CK owner buys Tommy Hilfiger March 15, 2010 PHILLIPS-VAN-HEUSEN will buy fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger in a cash and stock deal for about $3bn (£2bn) in a bid to boost its presence in markets like Europe and Asia, it said yesterday. Tommy Hilfiger is currently owned by private equity firm Apax Partners. Phillips-Van Heusen – which also owns the Calvin Klein designer brand [...]
Punch Taverns directors reveal retirement plans March 15, 2010 PUNCH Taverns directors Fritz Ternofsky and Mike Foster will retire from the board at the end of March, the company announced yesterday. The company said there were no plans to directly replace him but that non-executive directors Tony Rice and Ian Wilson would pick up some of his duties. Rice will replace Ternofsky as senior [...]
Threadneedle loses two top fund bosses March 15, 2010 THREADNEEDLE has seen two top fund managers exit in recent weeks as the British firm rejigs its investment teams in the aftermath of the financial crisis. William Frewen, head of fixed income, left Threadneedle last month and Chris White, senior fund manager in the equities team, has also quit. The fund firm — which managed [...]
UK urged to stand firm against AIFM March 15, 2010 THE government has been urged to take a stand against proposed rules from Brussels on hedge funds and private equity amid warnings the measures could cost the City £4.7bn. As European Union finance ministers attempt to reach agreement on the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive today, industry figures made a last-ditch call on [...]
Talks to resolve Finland’s ports strike to begin March 15, 2010 Talks to end a port strike costing export-dependent Finland hundreds of millions of euros will resume today, both parties said yesterday. Juha Mutru, head of the Finnish Port Operators Association, said talks would begin at lunchtime, while spokeswoman Hilkka Ahde from transport workers union AKT confirmed the state mediator had called for talks to resume. [...]
China’s CNOOC in Argentine deal March 15, 2010 China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), China’s biggest offshore oil explorer, plans a joint venture with Argentina’s Bridas Energy Holdings, paying $3.1bn to take a 50 per cent stake in a subsidiary, Bridas Corporation, the company said. Bridas Corp, currently wholly-owned by Bridas Energy, will become equally owned by the partners and could have its [...]
Saudi’s Kingdom bids for hotels March 15, 2010 Kingdom Holding, the investment firm of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, wants to buy $375m (£249m) worth of shares in its hotel division listed in Dubai, in a blow to the beleaguered Nasdaq Dubai bourse. Kingdom Hotel’s shares have not traded since 11 January and are down 57 per cent since listing on the Nasdaq [...]
Liberty sells flagship store March 15, 2010 Upmarket British retailer Liberty is selling its distinctive mock Tudor department store building in London’s West End for £41.5m to pay off debt, it said yesterday. The 135-year-old firm, 68-per cent owned by property group MWB Holdings, said it had exchanged contracts to sell the freehold interest in the 125,000-square-foot store to Sirosa Liberty, a [...]
