Siemens issues an ultimatum September 23, 2009 Mobile company Siemens issued an ultimatum yesterday to a range of its ex-executive board members, including former chief executives Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld, and called on them to agree to pay damages relating to a multibillion euro bribery scandal. The German company, which is Europe’s biggest engineering group, said seven former managers would [...]
Ford to open new China factory September 23, 2009 Ford, the US carmaker, is opening a new factory in China, its third, as it seeks to catch up with rival General Motors. Chief executive Alan Mulally is set to break ground on the new plant in Chongqing tomorrow. It will produce high-end sedans and sport-utility vehicles. Ford was the only major US carmaker not [...]
Geely sets sights on expansion September 23, 2009 Goldman Sachs’ $334m (£203m) investment in Geely Automobile will boost the Chinese carmaker’s global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford’s Volvo brand it said yesterday. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Geely spiked 26 per cent yesterday after the company said it would issue convertible bonds and warrants to an affiliate of Goldman [...]
BP SLAMMEDONSAFETY September 23, 2009 BRITISH oil giant BP, led by chief executive Tony Hayward, has failed to carry out safety improvements after an explosion that killed 15 workers at its refinery in Texas in 2005, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a letter to the company last month. The complaint by the regulator is bad news [...]
Analysts say Lloyds could still exit APS September 23, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group could avoid the government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) altogether if it can raise £16bn via a rights issue, analysts from stockbroker Execution said yesterday. The APS is a “sub-optimal way to recapitalise the sector”, analysts led by Joseph Dickerson said, adding that rights issue would lower the bank’s wholesale funding costs. “Our [...]
National Grid’s UK dominance under threat September 23, 2009 NATIONAL GRID’s monopoly on electricity in England and Wales is set to be challenged by 12 companies, the sector’s regulator Ofgem said yesterday. Equitix, a PFI specialist, and Balfour Beatty, which was yesterday fined for price-rigging in its construction bids, are among those challenging the utility’s dominance. They will be bidding to operate £1.15bn of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 23, 2009 MOTHERCARENoble initiated coverage on Mothercare with a “neutral” rating and a 600p target price, saying the stock offers one of the best longer-term growth stories in the retail sector. In the short-term, the broker thinks that synergies from the Early Learning Centre and property restructuring benefits will help to withstand macro headwinds.CARNIVALCharles Stanley upgraded Carnival [...]
United profit withstands September 23, 2009 UNITED UTILITIES, the water company, said its forecast for underlying operating profits over the six months to the end of September were in line with expectations, despite cost pressures. United, which supplies around 7m customers across the north west, said revenue growth in its regulated business for the year would be lower than the six [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE LORD TURNER’S CRITICISMS OF THE CITY HELPFUL OR DAMAGING? September 23, 2009 ALLISTER AUGUSTIN ABN AMRO“It’s good that he’s addressed issues in banking, but it’s counterproductive not to give a solution to the problem. A lot of people are saying that it all very well for him to criticise, when he has already made his money from banking.” TONY COTTRELL ALLIANZ“He’s entitled to get on with his [...]
BHP boss nets $10m package September 23, 2009 BHP BILLITON’S chief executive Marius Kloppers was paid 51 per cent more this year, the group’s annual report showed yesterday, despite the mining giant’s profits slumping by 62 per cent last year. Kloppers’ remuneration package came in at more than $10m (£6.3m) for the 12 months to June. Last year he received $6.8m. His pay [...]
