EC competition watchdog has term extended October 11, 2009 NEGOTIATIONS between the UK’s part state-owned banks and the Treasury over use of the Asset Protection Scheme (APS) look set to be prolonged after EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes’s term was extended. Kroes, the European Commission’s competition watchdog, had been set to deliver a ruling on how Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland [...]
Battered JJB to carry on with cash call October 11, 2009 JJB Sports is ploughing ahead with its ambitious £100m cash call, despite calling it off on Friday following a suspected dirty tricks campaign. JJB Sports is expected this morning to hand over a dossier of emails and bank documents to City watchdog the Financial Services Authority for it to investigate what it believes is a [...]
Pfizer pulls out of drug trials October 11, 2009 Pfizer has halted patient enrolment in a late-stage lung cancer trial of its experimental drug, figitumumab, for safety reasons.The decision was recommended by independent safety monitors overseeing the study. In their review, the monitors found more serious adverse events, including deaths, with patients receiving figitumumab.Pfizer said currently enrolled patients may continue their treatment in consultation [...]
Kraft to watch Cadbury results October 11, 2009 Chocolate maker Cadbury’s trading update next week will be vital to it fighting off a takeover approach from US giant Kraft. The week after Kraft will report its own results, allowing investors to number crunch the bid offer. Analysts have speculated that chocolate sales could fall below guidance at Cadbury. The Takeover Panel has given [...]
CHARLES DUNSTONE GETS HITCHED IN GLITZY STAR-STUDDED STYLE October 11, 2009 THE BELLS rang out at the weekend for the business wedding of the year, the nuptials of Carphone Warehouse tycoon Charles Dunstone and PR executive Celia Gordon Shute. After the service at Christ Church in Spitalfields, the throng of moneyed guests hopped into black cabs to travel to everybody’s favourite bit of a wedding, the [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK October 11, 2009 OVER to the Landau restaurant at the Langham hotel on Friday evening for a sophisticated dinner for four. On the menu was beef carpaccio, crab and avocado and chicken “anglaise” for starters, followed by melt-in-your-mouth sea bass, Dover sole, beef rossini and lamb cutlets for the main event. Of course, fine dining would be nothing [...]
Punch to cut value of pubs as profits fall October 11, 2009 PUBS group Punch Taverns is expected to slash the value of its estate by more than £600m as it unveils a 40 per cent dive in annual profits on Wednesday. The struggling pub group is heavily weighed down by its portfolio of 8,300 pubs, which have suffered a sharp fall in value during the property [...]
Rolling strikes threat at Royal Mail as union prepares to meet with bosses October 11, 2009 ROYAL MAIL faces being hit with a series of rolling strikes which could start as early as next week, as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) heads into talks with the postal service today. Dave Ward, the chief negotiator for the CWU is weighing up the pros and cons of the drastic move, which would leave [...]
MILLER ATTACKS FUND MANAGERS October 11, 2009 Veteran fund manager Alan Miller has attacked the fund management industry for the “disgraceful” way in which it hides many of its charges from investors. Research from SCM Private, which Miller co-founded in June, shows that UK investors could be paying up to £5.8bn in “hidden” annual charges.
Citi dodges a pay row with sale of Phibro October 11, 2009 US BANK Citigroup has avoided a pay row with regulators with the sale of its Phibro commodities trading unit, where star performer Andrew Hall works. Hall, who earned a $98m (£62m) bonus last year, is on course for a performance-related award of more than $100m this year, sparking anger among US taxpayers, who financed the [...]
