Telenor makes peace with Alfa and plans $23bn merger October 5, 2009 NORWEGIAN Telenor and Russian Alfa Group have agreed to merge their Russian and Ukrainian holdings into a $23bn (£14.4bn) New-York listed telecoms firm, ending one of Russia’s longest corporate wars. Telenor’s stock surged 15 per cent on the news the row had ended. The dispute was seen as a major threat to foreign investment in [...]
BALLMER’S HI-TECH VISION October 5, 2009 MICROSOFT chief executive Steve Ballmer yesterday predicted the IT industry will play a key role in bringing the world out of the recession, creating 78,000 new jobs in the UK by 2013. Speaking at a lecture organised by employers’ organisation the CBI, Ballmer said: “These next few years are going to be the best yet.”
US Treasury misled public October 5, 2009 Senior US officials deliberately created the impression last year that banks receiving huge government cash infusions were healthier than was the case, Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Programme said yesterday. As a result, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke lost public credibility when the financial crisis [...]
Chrysler chiefs quit in shake-up October 5, 2009 Two of Chrysler’s three brand chiefs left the company yesterday just four months after their appointment, as Italy’s Fiat establishes control at the US carmaker.Chrysler said Peter Fong, head of the Chrysler brand, had resigned “for personal reasons”, while Michael Accavitti, head of Dodge, was leaving “to pursue other interests”. The US firm also said [...]
Actis raises $750m for new fund October 5, 2009 Actis, a private equity firm focussing on emerging markets, yesterday said it raised $750m (£471m) to invest in power and transport projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Goldman in talks to extend its CIT loan October 5, 2009 LLOYD Blankfein, chairman of Goldman Sachs, is in talks with CITGroup which could see the investment bank’s $3bn (£1.88bn) loan to the stricken lender extended. In the latest of a series of lifeline deals designed to save ailing CIT, Goldman is considering changing the terms on an emergency loan it made in June 2008 to [...]
PZ Cussons cleans up in the recession with strong sales October 5, 2009 ORIGINAL Source shower gel maker PZ Cussons yesterday said it remains “cautiously optimistic” for the full year, after the group was boosted by strong sales of new product lines. The firm, which also owns the Charles Worthington and The Sanctuary brands, said profits across the group were up on the same period a year ago. [...]
AmEx’s Kelly to step down after two years in top job October 5, 2009 AMERICAN Express said yesterday that Alfred Kelly will step down as its president early next year to seek a chief executive role elsewhere. “In the context of discussions we have had about longer-term plans for the organisation, Kelly made clear to me that he wanted the opportunity to run a company as chief executive,” said [...]
Tories unveil 250m tax cut for new firms October 5, 2009 THE Tories yesterday announced a surprise tax cut for new businesses in a bid to create 60,000 new jobs. Speaking at the party’s conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans to exempt new firms from some National Insurance contributions. Osborne said that any business that launches in the first two years of a [...]
AT-A-GLANCE October 5, 2009 • UnemploymentShadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May fleshed out well-trailed plans for welfare reform, outlining a scheme that will give personalised help to young people who have been unemployed for over six months. Under Labour’s existing New Deal scheme, a young jobless person must have been out-of-work for 12 months before they are given [...]
