BG staff are top earners September 3, 2009 STAFF at gas explorer BG Group make the most profit per employee of all the UK’s largest 100 quoted companies, it was claimed yesterday. Each BG employee added over £1m a year to the company’s bottom line, according to research from the Motley Fool. The research also said that British Land workers generate the highest [...]
US retail data shows recovery September 3, 2009 American retailers received a boost yesterday, as the latest figures showed that falling consumer demand began to flatten out, ending a period of sharp declines. August sales figures from top retail chains showed a drop in demand, but the fall was significantly less violent than in recent months. Retail Metrics, which tracks monthly sales figures [...]
Pension Corporation in cash call September 3, 2009 Pension buyout and insurance firm Pension Corporation is hoping to secure £400m from new and existing investors in a fresh capital-raising exercise, it is understood. JPMorgan, which is managing the cash call, may put in some money itself, after it built a five per cent stake in the company in its last capital-raising last year. [...]
NatEx suitors table a final 765m offer September 3, 2009 SHARES in National Express (NatEx) shot up by 13 per cent yesterday, after the transport group received an improved takeover offer of £765m from a consortium led by its largest investor. The consortium, comprising Spanish shareholder the Cosmen family and CVC Capital Partners, raised its indicative cash offer for the group to 500p a share, [...]
Darling: Rock won’t be sold to big bank September 3, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling signalled yesterday that he would block large banks from buying Northern Rock or the government’s stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group in a bid to promote competition. Speaking at a dinner hosted by employers’ organisation the CBI, Darling said the government would sell its banking stakes in a [...]
Deutsche Telekom seeks bidders for T-Mobile UK September 3, 2009 GERMAN telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom has entered talks with Vodafone, France Telecom and Spain’s Telefónica to sell its struggling British unit T-Mobile UK, sources said last night. All three firms are understood to have shown an interest in the unit, for which Deutsche Telekom hopes to net up to €4bn (£3.5bn). One option could see [...]
Britain to lag rest of G7 in its recovery September 3, 2009 BRITAIN will be the last major economy to exit the global recession, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday in its interim economic assessment, citing the UK’s poor fiscal position and reliance on what is a weakened banking sector. While the latest OECD GDP forecasts for this year provide slightly improved outlooks [...]
Sustained rebound in services activity raises chance of growth September 3, 2009 ACTIVITY in Britain’s services sector expanded in August at its fastest level in almost two years, a survey showed yesterday, raising hopes that the UK will exit recession in the third quarter. The CIPS/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 54.1 from 53.2 in July, above consensus expectations of 53.9. The boost came from [...]
HMV acquires 7digital stake in 7.7m deal September 3, 2009 ENTERTAINMENT retailer HMV yesterday snapped up a 50 per cent stake in online music store 7digital in a £7.7m deal. The digital media firm, founded by James Kane and Ben Drury, will now host HMV’s digital operations, including a new e-books store for its Waterstone’s brand. HMV yesterday said 10 per cent of its sales [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF YESTERDAY’S TRADING UPDATE FROM HMV? September 3, 2009 DAVID JEARY INVESTECThe acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in 7digital looks a good complementary strategic acquisition to increase the group’s digital profile and footprint. Trading in the core HMV UK division was slightly ahead of our expectations, offsetting a weaker than forecast international part. TONY SHIRET CREDIT SUISSEThe debate is whether after a [...]
