Bottom Line: Group is right to hang onto its best assets August 29, 2013 THE COMPARISON that Niall Booker drew yesterday with the banking behemoths of the crisis years was stark – just like Lloyds and RBS, the Co-op’s banking arm has got itself into a mess, and it’s going to take years to get out. So with many months of pain ahead of them, it’s not difficult to [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 30 August 2013 August 29, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES NFL agrees to settle lawsuit The US National Football League agreed yesterday to pay $765m to settle lawsuits filed by thousands of retired players who suffered debilitating health consequences from years of head trauma endured while playing the sport. The agreement allows the NFL to avoid a lengthy court battle, which could have [...]
Verizon talks boost Vodafone to 12-year high August 29, 2013 TELECOMS giant Vodafone saw shares jump to a 12- year high yesterday as it confirmed it is in talks to sell its stake in Verizon Wireless back to the US mobile operator. The deal could see Verizon offer Vodafone in excess of $100bn (£64bn) for the 45 per cent stake that it holds in the [...]
Stronger US growth revealed by revisions as Fed ponders taper August 29, 2013 NEW INFORMATION on the US economy paints a picture of much stronger growth in the second quarter, jumping from 1.7 per cent annualised to 2.5 per cent. The alteration announced yesterday may have consequences for the actions of the Federal Reserve, as the central bank decides when to trim the huge US programme of quantitative easing. [...]
UK confidence jumps ahead of EU competition August 29, 2013 THE NUMBER of people suggesting the economy is in good shape has risen more over the past year in the UK than any other large country in the European Union. As the UK finally records growth again, the proportion of people who think the economy is in a good position more than doubled in the [...]
Serco shares hit by fraud claims as probe looms August 29, 2013 SERCO had its worst trading day in 11 years yesterday after allegations it fudged performance figures on a £285m contract to deliver prisoners to courts across London. The Hampshire based business, which was awarded the contract by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 2011, has been placed on a three month probation to improve or [...]
Zurich chair Ackermann resigns after the death of finance boss August 29, 2013 THE CHAIRMAN of insurance firm Zurich shocked the company by resigning yesterday in the wake of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier’s apparent suicide. Josef Ackermann has given up all board duties with immediate effect, saying in a statement that “I have reasons to believe that the family is of the opinion that I should take [...]
Kentz and Amec stick to their guns risking deadlock on deal August 29, 2013 FTSE 100-listed engineering firm Amec’s takeover approach for smaller peer Kentz risks heading towards a stalemate, as it emerges that both sides are unwilling to make the next move. Amec is not thought to be willing to increase its offer before the 16 September put-up-or-shut-up deadline unless Kentz can show it can generate greater value, [...]
Fewer people moving to and away from UK August 29, 2013 IMMIGRATION and emigration both fell in 2012, official figures revealed yesterday, resulting in an overall slowdown in the net flow of people into the UK. A total of 497,000 people migrated to the UK last year, a sharp drop from the 566,000 in the previous 12 months. At the same time emigration levels fell from [...]
Nasdaq blames software bug for its three-hour trading shutdown August 29, 2013 NASDAQ OMX Group’s massive trading halt last week was due to a software bug and other internal technology issues triggered by problems at NYSE Euronext’s Arca exchange that led a key backup system to fail, the exchange operator said yesterday. Nasdaq said it was “deeply disappointed” by the three-hour outage on 22 August and while [...]
