West Coast Rail bidding process deemed flawed October 29, 2012 LACK of transparency, inadequate information and inconsistent treatment of potential bidders by the Department for Transport (DfT) all contributed to a “flawed process” to determine which firm would run the West Coast main line franchise, an interim inquiry into the fiasco has concluded. The debacle, which earlier this month resulted in the decision to award [...]
Ex-Dixons boss leaves Apple after six months October 29, 2012 FORMER Dixons boss John Browett is leaving Apple after just six months, the technology giant announced yesterday. The departure of the UK retailer, who was hired to drive the global expansion of its stores, was announced alongside that of Scott Forstall, who oversaw Maps. Browett, who will leave immediately, only joined from Dixons in April [...]
Parliament to probe HBOS’s collapse today October 29, 2012 AN INFLUENTIAL group of MPs and peers will today probe former HBOS heads on why their bank collapsed. The group failed in the financial crisis and was hastily taken over by Lloyds – which itself then needed a government bailout to cope with the weight of HBOS on its books. The Parliamentary Commission on Banking [...]
New AstraZeneca CEO to get up to £4m for leaving rival Roche October 29, 2012 ANGLO-SWEDISH pharma giant AstraZeneca revealed yesterday that it lured its new CEO to the firm with a multi-million pound remuneration package, including a base salary of £1.1m a year. Pascal Soriot, who joined from arch rivals Roche on 1 October, will also be granted up to £4m in compensation for the loss of long-term incentives [...]
Senior Bank of England exec sides with Occupy over economic crisis October 29, 2012 A SENIOR Bank of England official raised eyebrows last night by telling the Occupy movement of anti-capitalist protesters that their analysis of the financial crisis has been correct and that they have influenced post-crisis policy. Andrew Haldane, increasingly known for his outspoken views, was addressing a group called Occupy Economics at Friend’s House in Euston. [...]
Adoboli tells court bosses influenced trades October 29, 2012 EX-trader Kweku Adoboli told a court yesterday his bosses at UBS, including senior executive Carsten Kengeter, had been pushing him to take more risks when he took positions that cost the Swiss bank $2.3bn. Adoboli, 32, was arrested on 15 September 2011. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and four of [...]
Random House agrees merger with Penguin October 29, 2012 PEARSON and German media giant Bertelsmann have agreed a deal to merge their respective book publishing units Penguin and Random House, creating the world’s largest company of its kind as they grapple with a growing threat from digital book sellers such as Amazon. The firms have inked a deal despite a late bid from Rupert [...]
Hitachi secures UK nuclear project Horizon with £700m October 29, 2012 HITACHI, Japan’s largest industrial electronics maker, last night secured the deal for British nuclear new-build project Horizon, Hitachi is believed to have offered in the region of £700m to secure the project – more than double the sum analysts had predicted. Hitachi, along with Canadian counterparty SNC-Lavalin, and Westinghouse plus its parent company Toshiba, are [...]
CVC Capital to lose chairman after 30 years October 29, 2012 CVC CAPITAL Partners veteran Michael Smith will step down as chairman in January 2013 and hand the reins to a trio of dealmakers whose first job will be to raise €10bn (£8.06bn) from investors. Smith, who has spent 30 years at CVC from its origins as Citicorp Venture Capital – a subsidiary of Citigroup – [...]
No automatic happy ending for publishers that merge October 29, 2012 IT IS hard not to wince at the self-delusion of yesterday’s press release from Pearson and Bertelsmann. Describing the firms’ agreement to merge Penguin and Random House, Pearson’s outgoing chief executive Marjorie Scardino says: “Together the two publishers will be able to… be more adventurous in trying new models in this exciting, fast-moving world of [...]
