SPORT | IN BRIEF April 5, 2010 Irish National joy for Cracker RACING: Bluesea Cracker is a 33-1 chance for this Saturday’s Grand National after landing the Irish equivalent at Fairyhouse. The three-mile-five-furlong contest claimed several casualties, including favourite Saddlers Storm, but the 25-1 shot, ridden by Andrew McNamara, came through to beat Oscar Time by four and a half lengths with [...]
SeaFrance strike heads into a fifth disruptive day April 5, 2010 A STRIKE by French ferry workers which has been disrupting cross-Channel services from the Kent port of Dover appeared to be heading into a fifth day last night. SeaFrance had to cancel all Dover to Calais sailings after union members walked out on Friday in a row over new working practices. It has advised customers [...]
Borders chief earns $800,000 April 5, 2010 Ron Marshall, the former chief executive of book store chain Borders, earned around $805,774 (£526,900) last year, a drop of around 26 per cent on his compensation in 2008, according to an SEC filing yesterday. Marshall’s basic salary was $750,000 over the year. He left the firm in January after just a year in the [...]
JBS beefing up Brazil business April 5, 2010 Brazil’s JBS, the world’s largest beef processor, may raise as much as 2.16bn reais (£804m) with the sale of new shares to fund its direct distribution business. The Sao Paulo-based company, which processes an average of 35,000 head of cattle a day, plans to sell 200m new common shares in a primary offering, the equivalent [...]
Bombardier earnings down April 5, 2010 Bombardier earnings fell in the latest quarter due to the weak business jet market, and the plane and train maker warned profitability in its transportation segment would be less than expected this year, sending its stock down seven per cent. The world’s third largest civil aircraft maker said the lingering effects of the economic downturn [...]
SandRidge in $1.6bn bid for its rival Arena April 5, 2010 US-BASED oil and gas explorer SandRidge Energy sealed a $1.6bn (£1bn) takeover of rival Arena Resources yesterday, creating one of the largest producers in West Texas. The transaction, which at $40 per share values Arena at a 16.8 per cent premium to its Thursday closing price, will crank up SandRidge’s exposure to rising oil prices [...]
Happy Easter for West End April 5, 2010 POOR weather and early spring sales offers from retailers drove at least 2m shoppers to the West End over the Bank holiday weekend. Some retailers are understood to have recorded double-digit sales growth on the Friday, although trading did slow down over Saturday and Easter Monday, according to the New West End Company – which [...]
Aim fundraisings suffer a setback as investors shy away from risky business April 5, 2010 LONDON’S Alternative Investment Market (Aim) suffered a blow in the first quarter of 2010 as the total value of funds raised on the market took a further tumble. £247m was raised by 17 companies on Aim over the first three months of the year, 38 per cent below the £396m that was raised in the [...]
Small businesses face mammoth fines as government cracks down on fraud April 5, 2010 FROM today the Information Commissioner’s Office (IOC) will have the power to fine small businesses up to £500,000 for losing clients’ confidential data. The new measures, which fall under data protection rules, were passed in Parliament three months ago and are part of the Government’s latest attempt to crack down on fraud. Previously the IOC [...]
BarCap poaches veteran banker from Rothschild April 5, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital has poached the co-head of Rothschild’s investment banking division in the Middle East and North Africa to head up its financial institutions group (FIG) coverage, sources said yesterday. Michael Helou, 37, set up Rothschild’s Dubai office in 2006. In his new role, expected to begin in the middle of May, he will be [...]
