Pfizer closes research and development sites and cuts jobs after buying Wyeth November 10, 2009 PFIZER, the world’s biggest drugmaker, will close six research and development sites and cut jobs in both Britain and the US, following its acquisition of Wyeth. The company said it will reduce its global research and development square footage by 35 per cent. Pfizer will discontinue its R&D operations in Slough and Gosport, along with [...]
Luella stops trading after backer withdraws funds November 10, 2009 BRITISH fashion label Luella, whose fans include Cheryl Cole and Lily Allen, has ceased trading after its backers pulled out. Singapore-based retail group Club 21 pulled the plug on the brand yesterday following the collapse of one of designer Luella Bartley’s main producers in Italy last month. Bartley, who is best known for her party [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THERE IS MORE STABILITY IN THE HOUSING MARKET? November 10, 2009 JOHN ATHOW UBS“I think that house prices will drop again. There’s a lot of false confidence around. House prices are still high in London because there’s a lot of demand and very little supply. Estate agents are pushing up the market. I doubt that as many houses are being sold as before the crunch.” TREVOR [...]
China restates its policy for stabilising the yuan November 10, 2009 CHINA yesterday reiterated its policy to maintain the stability of the yuan at a reasonable and balanced level. Beijing was responding to comments on Monday by US President Barack Obama, who said he would discuss the currency when he visits the country next week. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China would keep improving [...]
Widening in Britain’s trade deficit in September due to surging imports November 10, 2009 A SURGE in imports saw Britain’s trade deficit unexpectedly widen in September to £3.5bn from £2.2bn, raising the possibility that net trade probably contributed to the drop in GDP in the third quarter. The UK’s deficit on trade in goods was £7.2bn in September while the surplus on trade in services fell to £3.7bn from [...]
House prices continue on their ascent November 10, 2009 BRITISH house prices continued to storm higher with official data showing that the annual decline narrowed to 4.1 per cent in September after prices rose 1.2 per cent on August. Figures from the Department for Local Communities and Government (DCLG) revealed yesterday that UK house prices rose by 3.1 per cent in the quarter ending [...]
Kraft’s offer has improved Cadbury’s brand image November 10, 2009 BUSINESS news only rarely makes it into the wider public consciousness, but as the graph shows, this is different when an iconic British brand is facing a takeover by an American company. In early August, Cadbury’s BrandIndex score and share price were around +47 and 536p respectively. The possibility of Kraft’s takeover saw Cadbury’s share [...]
All eyes are on the Copenhagen talks November 10, 2009 IT has been a busy week for energy, as the British government turns its attention to the much-anticipated UN climate talks in Copenhagen next month. That’s why British banks – or at least the ones part-owned by the taxpayer – are lending to wind farms as the government also paves the way for a massive [...]
Onshore wind given 1.4bn UKbank loan November 10, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and BNP Paribas teamed up with the European Investment Bank yesterday to pour £1.4bn of financing into onshore wind projects in the UK. Chancellor Alistair Darling and energy minister Ed Miliband threw their weight behind the project that encourages banks to lend to wind power firms a day [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 10, 2009 Syndicate Asset ManagementThe fund management group has hired Mark Cheshire, 51, as chief executive of its newly-formed Ashcourt Rowan wealth management businesses, which are due to formally launch in January. Cheshire was previously director of UK private wealth management at Lloyds TSB and, prior to that, chief executive and managing director at Lloyds TSB Private [...]
