Happy Christmas to all our readers December 22, 2010 AS another year draws to a close we at City A.M. have good reason to feel fortunate about the way things turned out in 2010. Firstly, it was a sensational year for news, both financial and political. In the financial sphere, there was the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, which brought all sorts of calls [...]
Rio Tinto gets ready to offer £2.5bn to take over Australia’s Riversdale Mining December 22, 2010 MINING group Rio Tinto could announce its A$3.8bn (£2.5bn) offer for Riversdale Mining today, before time runs out on Riversdale’s trading suspension on the Australian stock exchange. Talks between the two companies were ongoing yesterday, with Rio understood to be offering around A$16 a share for Mozambique-focused Riversdale. Riversdale could instead announce a longer suspension [...]
This funny box is not just for kids December 21, 2010 Are you a children’s entertainer?,” asks some clown as I’m unloading from the Nissan Cube’s boot. And there’s no doubt that as a chariot of choice for a children’s entertainer, the Nissan Cube must be on the list of hot possibles just due to its unusual cartoon looks. And therein lies the Nissan Cube’s weakness [...]
Rio Tinto is in talks to raise Riversdale bid December 21, 2010 RIO TINTO is in talks with Australian-listed coal miner Riversdale about raising its A$3.8bn (£2.5bn) friendly takeover bid, sources close to the companies said yesterday. Riversdale suspended its shares in accordance with Australian rules yesterday, reporting that it was set to make an announcement “about a possible control transaction”. The company has requested a trading [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
BHP ditches Merrill after Potash failure December 19, 2010 BHP BILLITON has dumped corporate brokers Bank of America Merrill Lynch and is now considering a list of names for a replacement, to be determined in the New Year. BHP’s decision follows the rejection of its expensive bid for Potash Corp by Canadian authorities last month, although BoAML was not actually actively involved in the bid [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 19, 2010 Navigant Consulting Howard Gendler (pictured) has been promoted to managing director of Navigant Consulting. He currently leads the business’ international development efforts, with a primary focus on disputes and investigations. Gendler has over 25 years’ experience directing sales and IT for European and US clients. He joined Navigant from Milnet, a litigation support firm, and [...]
Boxy and practical but no beauty December 14, 2010 If the Škoda Roomster looks a little strange – as if the front half of the car was developed by a different team to the back of it – it’s not accidental, it’s by design. The concept underlying the Roomster set out to split the car into two “rooms”, a “driving room” up front and [...]
CAR TALK December 14, 2010 NEW SERIES M COUPE This is the new 340hp BMW 1 Series M Coupé that will debut at January’s Detroit motor show. The twin-turbocharged car will have a 0-62mph time of just 4.9 seconds which, amazingly, is just a fraction slower than the existing M3, despite the fact that the car will be a lot [...]
Brown aide to join BHP board December 13, 2010 BHP Billiton has appointed a former government minister and one of the architects of the 2008 banking bailout to its board. Baroness Shriti Vadera will join the miner as a non-executive director from 1 January. Vadera held a variety of roles in government, as minister for Africa, economic competitiveness, and enterprise. She left government in [...]