AkzoNobel offloads starch arm June 21, 2010 US-based Corn Products International has struck a deal to buy the National Starch business off Dutch paints firm AkzoNobel for $1.3bn (£881m) in cash, completing the Dutch firm’s delayed sale of non-core businesses. AkzoNobel had acquired National Starch with its buyout of British paints firm ICI in 2008 and in April said it had received [...]
Acergy to buy rival Subsea 7 June 21, 2010 Oilfield services provider Acergy yesterday announced an all-share deal to buy rival Subsea 7, in a bid to create a leader in the undersea engineering segment hit by the Mexico Gulf oil spill. The offer values Subsea 7 at over $2.4bn (£1.6bn), based on the last closing price before the deal was announced. It comes [...]
GOLD’S SHINE TO KEEP ITS PRICE HIGH June 21, 2010 TWO weeks ago, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was giving testimony to the House Budget Committee. In the Q&A session that followed, he was asked, among other things, about the price of gold. “I don’t fully understand movements in the gold price,” he replied, going on to say that he felt its rise was an [...]
Vantage hit by £700k fine in FSA probe June 21, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) has hit Vantage Capital Markets with a £700,000 fine for allowing a senior figure to operate without the regulator’s approval. Daniel Hassell worked for interdealer broker Vantage for more than four years and had “significant influence” on the company, the FSA found. Vantage was formed as a limited liability partnership [...]
China’s FX shift won’t spark a sustained rally June 21, 2010 IT WAS a decision that had been long awaited by the financial markets, analysts and policymakers alike. But the announcement by the Chinese central bank to gradually return the Chinese currency to a managed floating exchange rate was issued with little ceremony on Saturday evening Beijing-time. Despite its vagueness, the statement was leapt upon yesterday [...]
Photo-me fined £500,000 for delaying tactic June 21, 2010 PHOTO BOOTH operator Photo-Me has been slapped with a £500,000 fine after it delayed disclosing pertinent information to the market. The City watchdog said this led to a false market in the FTSE Small Cap company shares for 44 days. In the final three months of 2006, Photo-Me made a series of announcements which led [...]
CFD ANALYST PICKS June 21, 2010 TECHNICAL STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Sell FTSE 100 at 5,400 Expertise: Technical analysis Average time frame of trades: 5-10 days The market has been very well-supported on dips below 5,000 with the latest bounce now likely to be opening additional gains back towards the 5,400 level over the coming sessions. However, any additional gains [...]
Norton Rose and LG post mixed results June 21, 2010 CITY LAW firms Norton Rose and LG are the latest to publish financial figures for the year, with mixed results, as the legal sector continues to come to terms with the effect of the recession on its business. Norton Rose, which this year merged with Australian outfit Deacons, saw turnover for the year fall by [...]
Simmons in US tie-up talks June 21, 2010 UK LAW firm Simmons & Simmons and US firm Mayer Brown have been locked in merger talks. It is understood that Simmons’ management emailed partners on 17 June to confirm that “preliminary discussions” about a merger were taking place with Mayer Brown senior figures. The email is also understood to have said that partners would [...]
Spain close to ratifying labour reforms designed to cut rising unemployment June 21, 2010 SPAIN’S parliament is expected today to ratify labour reforms seen as key to restoring economic health to a country crushed by unemployment, giving breathing space to the jaded ruling Socialists. A €15bn (£12.5bn) austerity bill managed to scrape through parliament last month by just one vote, narrowly averting a vote of no-confidence for Prime Minister [...]
