Booz, AT Kearney merger talks crumble July 7, 2010 MANAGEMENT consultancy firms Booz & Company and AT Kearney have called time on discussions over a merger, a move that would have created the world’s third-largest powerhouse in global consulting. Booz and AT Kearney said in a statement that their “future aspirations will be best realised as separate partnerships”, after it emerged last month that [...]
State Street is bullish on profit target July 7, 2010 ASSET management and custody firm State Street said yesterday that quarterly operating earnings would easily top Wall Street forecasts, sending its shares up nearly 10 per cent and boosting the broader market. State Street, the third-largest US custody bank, said second-quarter operating earnings would be 93 cents a share, handily beating analysts’ average forecast of [...]
Xstrata £1bn upgrade for Peru mine July 7, 2010 XSTRATA has approved a £1bn expansion of its copper mine in southern Peru, which will boost the firm’s output and extend the life of the mine by 20 years. The mining group’s existing projects at Tintaya were due to run out of ore in 2012, but Xstrata said yesterday it will develop the deposits nearby. [...]
PM promises to give power to the people July 7, 2010 DAVID Cameron will today announce an end to Whitehall targets, promising to replace them with a new structure that makes ministers more accountable to voters. The Prime Minister will tell a conference of civil servants that people rather than politicians will set the benchmarks for departmental performance, with the power to instigate change if government [...]
DS Smith makes bid for Otor July 7, 2010 PACKAGING and office products company DS Smith has extended its reach in Europe with the purchase of Otor from private equity group Carlyle. DS Smith has made a £206m bid for 95 per cent of the French packaging firm, with the rest of the deal value consisting of assumed debt. The firm, which has a [...]
WOSSY WINS ITV SHOW July 7, 2010 JONATHAN Ross has agreed to front a new chat show with ITV1 to be shown next year. He said he was “thrilled and excited” to be producing the “brand new” show. The financial details of the one-year deal were not disclosed. Ross earned an estimated £6m a year at the BBC, which he left earlier [...]
Labour hits out at Sky tie-up plans July 7, 2010 LABOUR is gearing up to oppose Rupert Murdoch’s proposed £12bn takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB. Shadow culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has written to opposite number Jeremy Darroch demanding he launch an investigation into plans by News Corp. to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky it doesn’t already own. And a group of Labour MPs [...]
Coutts: One needs £250k to qualify for free account July 7, 2010 THE Queen’s bank Coutts has withdrawn free banking to customers with less than £250,000 in their accounts. The private bank, which is majority-owned by the taxpayer after the government bailed out its owner, the Royal Bank of Scotland, used to offer free banking to anyone who kept at least £10,000 in their current account. But [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD ALL BANKS CONSIDER MONTHLY FEES? July 7, 2010 JIM BAND ROBERTSON CAPITAL “I used to be charged a monthly fee, after I set up a premium account without realising. I wasn’t seeing the benefits so I stopped and went back to a free account. Companies should pay for the services they get, but personal accounts don’t give enough to be value for money [...]
Walsh: BA will fly all planes July 7, 2010 WILLIE WALSH, British Airways (BA) chief executive, has vowed the airline will not lose money if there is a third strike by cabin crew after guaranteeing that 100 per cent of flights will be in operation. “If in case of a strike 100 per cent of flights will, as we believe, be guaranteed, British Airways [...]
