Tories to axe house packs November 23, 2009 THE TORIES have pledged to scrap home information packs (HIPS) within weeks, if they are elected. Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said yesterday it would be his first move, as the packs are stalling housing market recovery. Estate agents say sellers are put off by the £300 to £400 cost. And with the current shortage [...]
Borders in emergency talks November 23, 2009 High street books and CD chain Borders is holding emergency rescue talks as it fights to stay in business. The group, which also includes the Books Etc brand, is understood to be in discussions with firms including Waterstones’ parent HMV as fears mount it could be forced to call in administrators this week. WH Smith [...]
Microsoft and News Corp in Google attack November 23, 2009 MICROSOFT has held talks with News Corp about removing the latter’s online news content from Google’s search results and listing them exclusively on its Bing search engine instead. Talks are still at an early stage, with a question mark over the terms and payment for the deal. The giant media companies are said to be [...]
Six face prosecution over MP’s expenses November 23, 2009 SIX MPs and peers could be prosecuted for alleged fraud over their expenses claims. Scotland Yard detectives have passed four files to prosecutors so they can decide whether the four will face criminal charges. A further two files are expected to follow within weeks. The files concern Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim [...]
Loss of key Gulf Air contract could cost Rolls Royce $1.5bn November 23, 2009 ROLLS-ROYCE may lose a $1.5bn (£903m) engine contract awarded only five months ago by Gulf Air as the carrier looks to cut costs. The Bahrain-based airline said yesterday it would renegotiate contracts with Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce because it plans to shift its order book from wide-body to narrow-body planes to focus on cheaper-to-run shorter [...]
Investors in scramble for Lloyds bonds November 23, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group yesterday said investors had heavily oversubscribed to its ground-breaking contingent convertible bond exchange plan, sending the stock 3.8 per cent higher and paving the way for a strong take-up for its upcoming rights issue. Lloyds, which said the result marked “an important milestone” in its capital-raising exercise, raised £8.5bn in its non-US [...]
Top firms face worst pension deficit ever November 23, 2009 FTSE GLOBAL 100 companies are running a record combined pension deficit of €220bn (£200bn) as the financial crisis continues to bite. The deficit, as at the end of September, is the largest shortfall on record and compares with an equivalent figure of €180bn at the end of 2008 and just €20bn a year earlier. Consulting [...]
Cadbury shares hit record highs on talk of bids November 23, 2009 CADBURY shares yesterday hit a record high as the market bubbled with speculation that Hershey and Nestlé are waiting in the wings to make a bid for the chocolate maker. Cadbury stock reached a five-year peak of 819.50p, before closing 1.69 per cent up at 814p. Nestlé is believed to be holding talks with bankers [...]
Endemol buys Tiger Aspect, Tigress and Darlow Smithson to be biggest indie November 23, 2009 ENDEMOL, famous for producing Big Brother, has bought Tiger Aspect, Darlow Smithson and Tigress for an estimated £40m from IMG. The deal will make the entertainment giant the largest independent television producer in the UK, with revenues of more than £250m. Tim Hincks, chief executive of Endemol UK, said: “We’re excited about working with three [...]
DIMON TIPPED FOR US TREASURY POST November 23, 2009 JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon is being tipped as an eventual successor to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Dimon has won plaudits for returning the bank to a steady footing. Whereas Geithner has come under fire over the dollar’s weakness, the US government’s growing deficit and rising unemployment.
