Southern Rail strikes are going ahead despite both sides wanting to talk September 4, 2016 A 48-hour strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on the Southern Rail network will go ahead on 7 September despite both sides saying that they are available to hold talks to avert industrial action. The walk-out, the latest in the long-running dispute over the role of guards on the troubled network will [...]
American Formula One takeover edges closer but subject to European Commission sign-off September 4, 2016 The eagerly-anticipated sale of Formula One to Liberty Media will need to navigate a series of tight chicanes including potential scrutiny by the European Commission (EC). Private equity fund CVC is putting the final touches to a $9.1bn (£6.8bn) deal that will see the American media giant take full control of Formula One . Fox media mogul Chase [...]
Speedy Hire and Rottweiler set for shareholder showdown on Friday September 4, 2016 The very public dispute between shareholder and boardroom will come to a head this week as Speedy Hire's shareholders vote on proposals by activist investor Toscafund. Speedy Hire's largest shareholder – whose founder Martin Hughes is known by many as the Rottweiler – has called a general meeting, scheduled for this Friday, for shareholders to vote on two [...]
Italian prosecutors have dropped a probe into lender Monte dei Paschi September 1, 2016 Troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi received much needed positive news yesterday after Milan prosecutors filed a request to shelve an investigation into alleged market manipulation and false accounting by its chief exec and former chairman. It emerged last month that Fabrizio Viola and Alessandro Profumo were being investigated in relation to the way the [...]
Mergers won’t necessarily make the system stronger says German banking chief September 1, 2016 The head of the Federal agency that supervises the German financial sector has warned that consolidation among banks would not necessarily strengthen the banking system. President of BaFin, Felix Hufeld said that "consolidation cannot be a goal in itself” when addressing a banking conference today. The news comes the day after local media reported that Germany’s two largest lenders, Deutsche [...]
Inmarsat places $650m bond but isn’t planning to splash the cash September 1, 2016 Satellite company Inmarsat reached for the sky and succeeded as it successfully placed $650m of convertible debt. The placing was $50m more than the original deal size and Inmarsat said it reflected the “considerable demand” for the bonds which have a maturity that stretches out to 2023. “It was a popular placing that was oversubscribed [...]
Department of Transport £20m Southern Rail investment criticised by Umunna and RMT September 1, 2016 A package of measures unveiled this morning to improve the performance of Britain’s worst performing rail network was blasted by both Labour politicians and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. Transport secretary Chris Grayling announced a £20m investment to improve performance on the Southern Rail network. Read more: Department for Transport offers up £20m to [...]
Nando’s takes flight by offloading GBK to South African restaurant chain September 1, 2016 One of the original purveyors of the upmarket burger has been sold to the owner of 1980s stalwart Wimpy for 2.1bn rand (£109m). In a deal that really cut the mustard South African fast food group Famous Brands bought Britain's Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) as it saved nearly a fifth on the price due to the weaker pound in the wake [...]
Britain’s pension deficits grew by £100bn in August alone September 1, 2016 Britain's companies were urged to think of plugging pension holes as “part of the furniture” of financial planning after new research showed that deficits grew by a staggering £100bn during August. The PwC Skyval index, which covers 6,000 British defined benefit pension schemes, revealed that aggregate deficits had widened to £710bn by the end of August. [...]
