UK is facing chaos while Asia booms March 1, 2010 WHETHER or not Prudential is overpaying for AIG’s Asian operations remains to be seen. Shareholders, spooked by the prospect of Britain’s biggest-ever rights issue, sent the Pru’s share price tumbling yesterday. But what is not in doubt is just how important Asia is becoming to Britain’s most successful and ambitious companies – and just how [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYODA APOLOGY TOUR IN BEIJING Akio Toyoda, chief executive of Toyota Motor, apologised to Chinese consumers yesterday during a visit to Beijing, as he extended his effort to repair Toyota’s image to the biggest-volume car market in the world. Toyoda flew to China from the US where he had received tough criticism from [...]
Tories regain lead in polls March 1, 2010 THE Conservative lead in the polls remains fragile but yesterday’s YouGov survey showed the party regaining a seven point lead over Labour. The poll put the Conservatives on 39 per cent (up two), Labour on 32 per cent (down three) and the Lib Dems on 17 per cent (no change). It comes after Cameron’s speech [...]
Iceland opposes Icesave bill March 1, 2010 Icelanders increasingly oppose a bill to repay Britain and the Netherlands $5bn (£3.3bn ) lost in the banking crisis, with 74 per cent planning to vote down the measure in a referendum on Saturday, a new poll showed. The Gallup poll published by state radio late yesterady showed 19 per cent in favour of the [...]
Babcock told put up or shut up March 1, 2010 Defence support services group Babcock has been given six weeks to “put up or shut up” on its £1.25bn pursuit of its rival VT Group. Yesterday’s notice from the Takeover Panel, which VT requested over a week ago to end the uncertainty surrounding a possible deal, forces the bidder to make a firm offer by [...]
Political fears cause pound to plummet March 1, 2010 FOREIGN exchange markets were yesterday spooked by the prospect of a hung parliament, after a raft of polls suggested political stalemate following the general election. Sterling plunged into crisis, tumbling as much as three per cent against the US dollar and broke through the key $1.50 level to hit $1.4780. The pound was also knocked [...]
Mandelson calls for reform of M&A rules as he defends City March 1, 2010 LORD Mandelson last night called for an overhaul of M&A rules in light of the Cadbury takeover. He said laws needed to be in place to ensure the long-term future of British companies. In his Mansion House speech to London financiers he said: “We need directors equipped to be stewards rather than just auctioneers.” He [...]
BAE pleads guilty and pays fine March 1, 2010 BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest military contractor, pleaded guilty in a US court to conspiring to make false statements in connection with foreign arms contracts and will pay a $400m (£267m) fine. BAE announced last month it would resolve a long-standing inquiry by the US Department of Justice into questionable payments it made to secure arms [...]
Sony tell gamers to stop playing March 1, 2010 Sony said a glitch has knocked PlayStation 3 users off the game console’s online network, and the company warned that data loss could occur if gamers continued using the machines. Sony said in a blog post yesterday that the problem was likely caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system, reminiscent [...]
Shire on high after drug approval March 1, 2010 Shire, the pharmaceutical company, will launch a new treatment for patients suffering from Gaucher disease. The product, named VPRIV, was granted marketing approval by the US Food and Drug Administration yesterday. The VPRIV application has also been granted accelerated assessment by the European Union. Shire expects to launch VPRIV in the EU by the end [...]
