Lawson: The Tories need to find the bottle to cut public spending July 2, 2009 FORMER chancellor Lord Lawson is feeling hot under the collar. It’s not just because he’s finished delivering a lecture in a stuffy, airless room at the London Stock Exchange. He’s also fed up with travelling on the underground in the sweltering heat. “The problem with the tube is not so much the heat,” he tells [...]
Intermediate Capital in 351m fund raising as it eyes market opportunities July 2, 2009 PRIVATE equity lender Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) said yesterday that it plans to raise £351m to grow the business, boosting its share price by 3.16 per cent to 506p. IPG managing director Tom Atwood said the proceeds of the rights issue will allow the company to capitalise on the investment opportunities in the primary and [...]
Usmanov waits on the touchline as Arsenal board mulls over rights issue July 2, 2009 THE BOARD of Arsenal football club was yesterday locked in talks over major stakeholder Alisher Usmanov’s proposal that the club should launch a £75m-£150m rights issue, to pay off some of its £320m debt and fund player transfers. Despite having significant influence through his 25 per cent stake in the company, the Uzbeki billionaire was [...]
Trinity Mirror to close nine of its Midlands titles July 2, 2009 DAILY Mirror owner Trinity Mirror said yesterday that it plans to close nine local newspapers in the Midlands, putting 120 jobs at risk. The firm said that it will close a clutch of weekly newspapers in the region, as well as two niche publications, the Earlsdon Blog and Farm Ad, resulting in the closure of [...]
Lufthansa wants quick deal July 2, 2009 LUFTHANSA could still win quick European Union regulatory approval for its planned takeover of Austrian Airlines if it makes concessions within days, the European Commission said yesterday. Speed is crucial for the deal because the German carrier can walk away if it does not get a green light by 31 July — much earlier than [...]
Dividends hit by recession July 2, 2009 THE NUMBER of companies reporting dividend increases to Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has fallen to its lowest ever level, the ratings agency said yesterday. S&P said a record low of 233 out of around 7,000 companies had reported a dividend increase in the second quarter of 2009, a 48.8 per cent drop from the same [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 2, 2009 FSSCThe Financial Services Skills Council has appointed Simon Ellis to lead an independent review of its future role and strategy. Ellis joins from Fidelity’s multi-manager business, where he was a managing director. He was also previously head of UK retail at AXA Investment Managers and was until recently a board director of the Investment Managers [...]
Game Group shares fall as trading gets worse July 2, 2009 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group yesterday posted an accelerating decline in sales, only partly offset by better profit margins, sending its shares as much as 11 per cent lower. The UK-based group, which trades from 1,367 stores, concessions and franchises in nine European countries and Australia, said like-for-like sales fell 15.4 per cent in the [...]
Carphone in Vodafone tie-up July 2, 2009 CARPHONE Warehouse said yesterday it will offer contracts from Vodafone from next week in its 820 stores, three years after Vodafone pulled its mobile phone products from the retailer. Vodafone switched to an exclusive deal with Carphone rival Phones4U in 2006 in the hope it could pay lower sales commissions. The move knocked Carphone’s shares [...]
Greene King sales boosted by sunshine July 2, 2009 BREWER and pub owner Greene King yesterday said warmer weather had boosted trading in the last eight weeks as drinkers flocked to sunny beer gardens. The group, which owns City pubs Golden Fleece and The Old Tea Warehouse, said like-for-like sales were up 5.2 per cent at Greene King’s managed pubs in the first eight [...]
