Bookies take bets on CEO successor June 20, 2010 BOOKMAKERS are taking bids on who is likely to replace BP chief executive Tony Hayward, as uncertainty mounts over who will take the helm. Iain Conn, Bob Dudley and Doug Suttles are among some of the BP executives tipped on Irish book maker Paddy Power’s website, with odds favouring Conn, who is chief executive for [...]
Spice investors tell Cinven to up its bid June 20, 2010 INVESTORS in Spice, Britain’s largest installer of water meters, have signalled private equity house Cinven will have to significantly improve its £316m approach for the company if deal talks are to open. Spice’s board last week rejected an indicative offer of 56p per share from Cinven as “opportunistic”. Although the offer represented a 51.5 per [...]
Australian mining magnate is missing June 20, 2010 AUSTRALIAN mining magnate Ken Talbot and all four other board members at Sundance Resources are missing after their plane disappeared in Cameroon on Saturday. Talbot, one of Australia’s richest men and non-executive director at Sundance, was one of nine people flying to the Republic of Congo, where Sundance has opened a major iron ore project. [...]
Toyota action ends amid rash of China strikes June 20, 2010 WORKERS at a plastics parts supplier for Toyota in China resumed work yesterday, ending a three-day strike over pay and benefits. The strike, at Toyota-affiliated parts maker Toyoda Gosei Co, had forced a stoppage for most of Friday at the Japanese car makers’ joint venture factory in the northern city of Tianjin, near to Beijing. [...]
City sharpens knife for Pru’s chairman June 20, 2010 SEVERAL institutional shareholders are agitating for the resignation of Prudential chairman Harvey McGrath as pressure grows on the board over the aborted attempt to buy AIA in Asia for $35.5bn (£25bn). Fidelity, Legal & General, Schroders and F&C are understood to be among those demanding a change at the top of the FTSE 100 insurer, which [...]
Lockheed signs up BAE as jet partner June 20, 2010 BAE SYSTEMS has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to sustain and support a series of combat fighter planes in Australia. Both companies signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday in Australia’s Newcastle, which will see BAE help support the government’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter plan. The Australian government has already approved the procurement [...]
Toy Story 3 sets Disney record June 20, 2010 Movie giant Walt Disney smashed a box office record with the opening weekend for Toy Story 3, the third in its animated series about toys that come alive. The cartoon sold $153.8m (£103.7m) worth of tickets at the weekend, with $109m taken in the US and Canada – a new opening record for a film [...]
Gold hits an all-time record high June 20, 2010 Gold rallied to an all-time record above $1,260 an ounce on Friday, as investors looked to precious metals for an alternative to equity or debt investments given renewed uncertainty about the economic recovery. Surprisingly weak US economic data hiked the tangible asset and spot gold hit an all-time high of $1,261.90 an ounce. US gold [...]
AIR ASIA CONSIDERS LONDON IPO June 20, 2010 AIRASIA is weighing its options of a $1bn (£674m) London Stock Exchange listing next year when the company floats its long haul business, AirAsia X. The group’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes (pictured), said the airline would initially list in Malaysia, but that it was considering a secondary listing in either London or New York. AirAsia [...]
Verizon may pay Vodafone dividend soon June 20, 2010 VODAFONE may receive a dividend from its stake in American mobile carrier Verizon by 2012, according to Verizon’s chief financial officer. John Killian said there was a “reasonable chance” of issuing a dividend in two years, “assuming no change in the structure of the business”. “It’s a Verizon-controlled decision as to when we pay the [...]
