Hands in year long plan to sue Citigroup December 13, 2009 TERRA Firma’s £2bn lawsuit against Citigroup, which it accuses of lying during its buyout of music giant EMI two years ago, had been in the pipeline for 12 months. The private equity group led by Guy Hands finally decided to strike after Citi rejected a refinancing deal that would see £1bn of loans to EMI [...]
Stitzer set to woo investors December 13, 2009 CADBURY chief executive Todd Stitzer will today tell shareholders why they should not accept a hostile takeover from Kraft Foods as speculation mounted that the British confectioner is in talks with Hershey over a rival offer. Hershey is widely understood to be holding talks with Cadbury about a possible friendly takeover. At an eagerly anticipated [...]
$3.5bn Dubai repayment due December 13, 2009 DUBAI faces the first major hurdle in its struggle to resolve its debt crisis today as the $3.5bn (£2.2bn) bond by state-owned firm Nakheel expires. Last night there was no indication whether the Islamic bond, or sukuk, would be repaid on time. But the sukuk closed higher at 54 cents to the dollar on Friday [...]
London’s best sales growth for 3 years December 13, 2009 LONDON enjoyed its best sales growth since October 2006, with central London retail sales for November 13.3 per cent higher on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) out today. “These are great figures,” said Stephen Robertson, BRC’s director general. “These figures show that [...]
Bankers destroy value December 13, 2009 Bankers destroy £7 of value for every pound they create, according to new research by the New Economics Foundation. The research into the social value of different jobs concluded that hospital cleaners, for example, create more then £10 in value for every £1 they receive in pay. Advertising executives and tax accountants destroy even more [...]
Gartmore lists at 220p per share December 13, 2009 Fund management house Gartmore will list on the stock exchange today at 220p per share, significantly below the 270p mid-point it had hoped for. Gartmore’s flotation is the first initial public offering of a private-equity owned company since the onset of the credit crunch in 2007. While its share price will now imply a market [...]
Q & A : THE BANK BONUS TAX December 13, 2009 Q. WHICH FIRMS ARE CONCERNED THEY MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE BONUS TAX? A.The Treasury originally said the tax would only hit the 397 deposit-holding banks and building societies which hold a banking licence from the Financial Services Authority, as well as their subsidiaries. However, the rules have since blurred; the Treasury has already stipulated [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 13, 2009 THE SUNDAYS The Sundays Telegraph DEBENHAMS DIRECTORS GET BUMPER PAYOUTS Directors of Debenhams have received bumper payouts, despite the retailer cutting its dividend payment to shareholders last year. Rob Templeman, chief executive, saw his package increase by a third to £1.24m after he was granted a bonus of £428,073. Michael Sharp, deputy chief executive, saw [...]
People don’t come here for the weather December 13, 2009 In 1733, Voltaire, one of France’s greatest thinkers, wrote a series of letters on the English nation, describing some of the extraordinary going-ons he had discovered during his exile to this country. The findings scandalised many of his French readers, then a truly statist and anti-capitalist nation. “Go into the London Stock Exchange – a [...]
Tory lead narrows in poll December 13, 2009 THE chances of a hung Parliament looked that much greater yesterday, after a poll from YouGov put Labour just nine points behind the Conservatives, who registered 40 per cent support. The City is concerned that a narrow majority for an incoming government, or even worse, no majority at all, will make it impossible to take [...]
