BARRATT BEATS THE BLUES November 4, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt yesterday said there had been a 92.3 per cent shareholder take-up of its £720m rights issue, strengthening signs of appetite returning to the housing sector. Barratt follows in the footsteps of rivals Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group and Bellway which have all launched cash calls in the slump.
SIR STUART UNVEILS A CELEBRITY CRUSH AND A HOT ‘N’ SPICY FETISH November 4, 2009 SIR Stuart Rose was on fire yesterday as he churned out Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) half-year figures in his customary staccato tones, pausing only to dwell upon his favourite subjects. The presentation, you see, included the unveiling of the retailer’s latest Christmas advertising campaign, which will this year feature regulars singer Myleene Klass and model [...]
BOTTOMS UP November 4, 2009 TO BERKELEY St last night for a party hosted by ex-special forces director Major General John Holmes, now a director of business intelligence and security firm Titon, which has just expanded into Dubai. “An army background is invaluable for business intelligence – particularly with discipline in discretion, an essential in somewhere as gossipy as the [...]
BALANCING ACT November 4, 2009 UK FINANCIAL Investments (UKFI) boss John Kingman yesterday warned the agency was “walking a tightrope” as it attempted to limit bonus payments while avoiding an exodus of talent at Britain’s bailed out banks. The public was “understandably angry” at fat cat bonus payments, said Kingman, the departing chief executive of the body managing the government’s [...]
Fed says it will keep rates low November 4, 2009 US central bankers last night pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for an “extended period” as the economy clambers out of recession. The Federal Reserve said economic activity “has continued to pick up” but added that rising unemployment and tight credit conditions were holding back consumer confidence. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and colleagues [...]
Rivals circle Galleon staff November 4, 2009 GALLEON Group, the hedge fund firm at the centre of a sweeping insider-trading scandal told investors in a letter yesterday that it has been contacted by several investment firms inquiring about its employees and that it plans to return capital in the coming months. Galleon founder and chief investment officer Raj Rajaratnam was one of [...]
Bubblenomics is back with a vengeance November 4, 2009 IT is time to worry about the next bubble – not just in the UK, but in markets all over the world. Earlier this year, I wrote a column in this space arguing that the housing market in the UK was no longer over-valued, based on historic price to earnings ratios and a range of [...]
Mandy in Vauxhall talks November 4, 2009 LORD Mandelson would pledge financial support to a long-term, viable business plan from Vauxhall parent General Motors (GM), sources close to his department said last night, after the business secretary held talks with the US carmaker and the German economics minister. Mandelson spoke with Fritz Henderson and Rainer Bruederle yesterday after the US car giant [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 4, 2009 THE FINANCIAL TIMES OPEL U-TURN LEAVES GERMANY ANGRYGermany and Russia reacted furiously to General Motors’ surprise decision to keep Opel rather than sell it, throwing up fresh uncertainty about the future direction of one of Europe’s biggest carmakers. The news that GM’s board had abandoned the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to Canada’s Magna and Russia’s Sberbank [...]
UK retail sales to dip in 2010 November 4, 2009 British retail sales will be flat over Christmas and are expected to fall 1.5 per cent in 2010, according to data from Deloitte. The business advisory firm said shoppers were moving towards supermarket groups and non-food retailers need to focus more on differentiating their products and improving customer service.
