Unilever announces shake-up to drive growth June 24, 2011 Consumer goods group Unilever is to focus on product categories rather than geographic regions in a management shakeup the Anglo-Dutch group says is aimed at driving growth especially in emerging markets. The maker of Dove soap and Knorr soups is to scrap its three-region structure and single-product category heads, with new Chief operating officer Harish [...]
Eurozone debt biggest threat to UK says watchdog June 24, 2011 The Eurozone’s debt crisis poses the biggest threat to Britain’s financial stability and banks must come clean on their full exposure, Britain’s new risk watchdog said. The Financial Policy Committee, which is operating in an interim capacity until legislation is passed next year, also turned up the heat on banks to use strong profits to [...]
Home Retail buys slice of Habitat for £24.5m June 24, 2011 Home Retail Group has announced that it has bought parts of the Habitat chain for £24.5m. The Argos and Homebase owner has bout the rights are for the exclusive use of the Habitat brand, its brand designs and intellectual property in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It has also acquired the Habitat UK [...]
Daimler and Rolls-Royce secure 94 of Tognum June 24, 2011 Daimler and Rolls-Royce have secured 94 per cent of shares in Tognum after raising their offer for the diesel engine maker last month. Daimler said it expects cash settlement of the deal in the third quarter, after it has received regulatory approval. With their offer for Tognum, which makes military and ship engines, Daimler and [...]
HSBC must wait to July for Madoff lawsuit decision June 24, 2011 HSBC will have to wait until the end of July to hear whether or not a $9bn (£5.63bn) lawsuit accusing the bank of enabling the massive fraud will go ahead. Lawyers for the bank argued in Manhattan federal court on Thursday evening that the law did not allow trustee Irving Picard – trying to recover [...]
RAB confirms delisting June 24, 2011 Hedge fund manager RAB Capital has outlined its plans to delist, as it sought to close a troubled chapter of tumbling assets and defecting clients. Shareholders are being offered 10 pence cash for each RAB share or have the option to swap them on a one-for-one basis for unlisted shares in NewCO, a company being [...]
Oil plunges after reserves release June 23, 2011 International Energy Agency’s emergency supply tapped for just third time in 37 years FRENZIED trading saw oil drop by over six per cent yesterday, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said it would release 60m barrels of emergency reserves in the next month, “in response to ongoing disruption of oil supplies from Libya”. Brent crude [...]
IMF endorses Greek budget June 23, 2011 GREECE has agreed on the details of a five-year austerity plan with EU and IMF inspectors hoping to steer the country away from bankruptcy. The beleaguered country’s new finance minister Evangelos Venizelos met with a delegation of EU and IMF officials in Athens yesterday to discuss measures for extra tax rises and spending cuts to [...]
Lessons to learn from Swiss watches June 23, 2011 IT is my favourite fact of the day: exports of Swiss watches jumped by an astonishing 40 per cent in May. Exports to China were up 41 per cent in May, to South Korea by 39 per cent and to Singapore by 35 per cent. Even Western demand is recovering, albeit not by as much. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINESE PREMIER DECLARES VICTORY OVER INFLATION Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has declared victory over domestic inflation, saying that the government has successfully reined in price pressures. “China has made capping price rises the priority of macro-economic regulation and introduced a host of targeted policies. These have worked,” Mr Wen writes in today’s Financial [...]
