UK firms seek out new forms of finance November 22, 2009 UK companies are increasingly looking past banks to other forms of financing as a result of the financial crisis, according to an industry survey out today. And due to the difficulties in raising cash, firms are “more cautious” about all types of investment such as research and development, leading to projects being delayed or scrapped [...]
Rover bosses answer back November 22, 2009 DIRECTORS of MG Rover have rejected calls to share with former workers an £11m pay out from a defunct finance company connected to the collapsed car maker. Representatives of the controversial “Phoenix Four” plus one other director last night confirmed they were expecting MGR Capital Ltd to be wound up within weeks. The Midlands businessmen [...]
Hochtief eyes up 1bn IPO in its concessions business arm November 22, 2009 GERMAN construction group Hochtief aims to raise as much as €1bn (£989m) by floating a minority stake in its concessions infrastructure business in what would be Germany’s biggest IPO in two years. The issue will be Germany’s first major initial public offering (IPO) since diesel engine maker Tognum’s €2.1bn listing in 2007, before markets were [...]
Business confidence at six-year peak but higher VAT to test sales November 22, 2009 BRITISH business confidence is at a six-year high, according to a new survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW). The Business Confidence Monitor, out today, climbed to 24.6 for the fourth quarter, up from 4.8 in the third quarter. This is the highest reading since the series began in 2003 and will boost expectations [...]
BIGBITEOFMOVIESUCCESS November 22, 2009 The Twilight Saga: New Moon, a film sequel in which British actor Robert Pattinson stars as a vampire, broke the all-time record for opening day takings in America at the weekend. The blockbuster took £72.7m (£44m) at the US box office on Friday, and a whopping $258.8m worldwide in its first three days. In the [...]
&65279;’GOD’S WORK’ GOLDMAN SETS ITS SIGHTS ON THE SALVATION ARMY November 22, 2009 JUST when we thought Goldman Sachs couldn’t get any more holier-than-thou, up pops a gem to prove us all wrong. Just weeks after chief executive Lloyd Blankfein claimed his army of smartly-dressed minions were “doing God’s work”, it now appears that a raft of the bank’s staff in New York have signed up to be [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 22, 2009 THE show-stopping lunch is back with a bang, if this short-but-sweet receipt from the restaurant at The Capital hotel in Knightsbridge is anything to go by. Our pair of well-heeled diners chose the £33 three-course lunch menu – including such gems as a tiger prawn and coconut risotto, seared scallops with calf feet and braised [...]
Buckingham’s 80m from Ugandan sale November 22, 2009 HERITAGE OIL is expected to announce today that it has agreed to sell its Ugandan fields to Italian rival Eni SpA, in a $1.5bn (£909m) deal which will earn chief executive Tony Buckingham around £80m. Buckingham is a former partner in South Africa-based private military company Executive Outcomes, where he worked closely with Simon Mann, [...]
Las Vegas Sands IPO disappoints in China November 22, 2009 CASINO group Las Vegas Sands has seen lower than expected interest in the stock market float of its Macau business. Sands China, an offshoot of Las Vegas Sands, raised $2.5bn (£1.51bn) through its initial public offering in Hong Kong, Chinese sources said. That was at the bottom of the range hoped for, but will ensure [...]
Bank of America to extend job hunt November 22, 2009 BANK of America may extend its search for a new chief executive into next year if its board is unable to pick a candidate in the next four days, according to a report on Bloomberg News. The story cites unnamed people familiar with the matter who had spoken ahead of a November 20 meeting about [...]
