Samsung finds labour failures November 26, 2012 Korean electronics giant Samsung said yesterday it had found evidence of “several instances of inadequate practices” at its suppliers in China. An internal audit of working practices at 105 Chinese suppliers found repeated examples of excessive working hours and incorrect contracts. The company, which is now investigating further factories, said it would remedy the failures. [...]
Glaxo heats up move towards drinks markets November 26, 2012 BRITAIN’S largest pharma company is hoping to spend over half a billion pounds expanding into consumer markets in India and Nigeria, where it earns significant revenue from the highly popular Horlicks drink. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced yesterday a £591m offer to boost its stake in its Consumer Healthcare subsidiary in India, along with a £62m bid [...]
Profit warning knocks £30m off troubled software company SDL November 26, 2012 TRANSLATION software company SDL saw more than £30m wiped off its value yesterday after posting a surprise profit warning. When chief executive John Hunter was shown the door earlier this month, interim boss Mark Lancaster conducted an internal review of the business. Yesterday the company revealed that it expected profits £3m-£4m – up to 10 [...]
Cranswick profits jump as pig prices passed on to customers November 26, 2012 CRANSWICK, the sliced meat and sausage-maker, yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in half-year profits as it succeeded in passing higher pork prices onto its customer. The Yorkshire-based group warned last month that UK prices were at a three-month high and would continue rising because of high livestock feed prices and the introduction of [...]
Stobart pulls its retail bond November 26, 2012 STOBART Group has shelved plans to enter the retail bond market, though its board has not ruled out an offering in future. The company said it decided not to proceed following the entry of larger bond issuers at higher coupon pricing. Stobart chief financial officer Ben Whawell said: “We will keep under review the possibility [...]
Pinsent grows turnover 4pc November 26, 2012 LAW firm Pinsent Masons yesterday announced a half-year turnover figure of £146m, a four per cent increase on the same period last year. Pinsents, which earlier this year secured a tie-up with Scottish firm McGrigors, also said it had hired corporate finance specialist Jonathan Beastall from rival Clifford Chance. Stripping out revenues from McGrigors, the [...]
Boris says UK is losing foreign students due to tough visa rules November 26, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday urged the government to make it easier for foreign students to study in the UK. Despite the hurdles for students, he revealed that the number of Indian tourists visiting London hit 145,000 in the first half of 2012 – up from 113,000 in the same period last year. Speaking on a trade [...]
Identity screening company GB Group driven by online demand November 26, 2012 THE INCREASING need for security checks in online banking, gambling and shopping has driven identity screening firm GB Group to a 44 per cent rise in sales in the first half of its financial year. The Chester-based business, whose software checks online registrations and logins against databases of information in order to verify them, has [...]
Standard Life to open Dubai office November 26, 2012 Standard Life has unveiled plans to expand its presence overseas by opening its first office in the Middle East. The insurer revealed yesterday it has been granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to open a branch of Standard Life International within the Dubai International Financial Centre. The move follows news last month [...]
German carmakers want loophole November 26, 2012 German car manufacturers are seeking to widen a loophole in EU regulations that would allow them to produce more cars with carbon emissions above a 2020 EU target. EU car makers are divided over how a 2020 EU target to cut emissions to an average of 95g per km should be shared across the industry. [...]
