Tesco slams Competition Commission July 16, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s biggest retailer, yesterday hit back at plans by the Competition Commission to introduce a new test into the planning system to combat the dominance of big supermarket chains. Tesco supermarket director Lucy Neville-Rolfe said the move “will cost jobs by deterring investment in the areas that need it most, in what is already [...]
FOOTBALL IN BRIEF July 15, 2009 Blues pair see bans reducedCHELSEA duo Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa have both had their European bans reduced by one game after appealing against charges of improper conduct from the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona in April. Drogba will now serve a three-game suspension and Bosingwa two. Black Cats chasing CrouchSUNDERLAND boss Steve Bruce has [...]
SLICE OF OLD-BOY STYLE HITS CITY FINE WINING AND DINING CIRCUIT July 8, 2009 NOT so long ago, City types were busy bemoaning the lack of decent restaurants on their patch. But now, just weeks after the Galvin brothers announced they were opening a new pad near Spitalfields market, I hear there’s a new eatery coming to town, courtesy of Simon Parker Bowles, former brother-in-law to Camilla, Duchess of [...]
BSkyB ordered to pay out legal costs June 23, 2009 THE Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ordered BSkyB to pay the government and Competition Commission’s legal costs associated with the broadcaster’s appeal to keep its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV. BSkyB is fighting an ongoing battle to retain the stake, which it bought for £940m in 2006. The deal blocked a potential takeover of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 23, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GCL-POLY TO BUY SOLAR ASSETS FOR $3.4BNGCL-Poly Energy, a Hong Kong-based power plant operator, said yesterday it would pay HK$26.4bn (£2bn) to acquire solar assets from its chairman as it seeks to expand in the green energy sector. The company said it would buy Jiangsu Zhongeng, a supplier of polysilicon and wafers used [...]
Mandelson wins costs from MAG June 23, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson has succeeded in a bid to reclaim legal costs from the Merger Action Group (MAG), which launched an unsuccessful legal bid to prevent the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) awarded the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Berr), £35,000 in costs, but rejected a [...]
Even neutral news from the Fed will boost the greenback June 23, 2009 FEDERAL RESERVE Chairman Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have an unenviable job today as they discuss the next steps for US monetary policy against the backdrop of improving global conditions – the decision is due at 7.15pm this evening Since the committee last met on 28-29 April, the [...]
US firms face votes on pay June 10, 2009 US TREASURY secretary Timothy Geithner has promised new laws to force listed firms to put the pay packages of top executives to shareholder votes, although the results will not be binding. Geithner said shareholder-owned firms will have to hold “say on pay” votes over pay packages, following the public fury over so-called “fat cat” bonuses [...]
ABI: there is still faith in City bosses June 8, 2009 PUBLIC fury over the financial crisis and “fat cat” bonuses has failed to derail confidence in bosses at the City’s major companies, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) will claim today at its biennial conference. The ABI will unveil the results of a major national survey on economic sentiment suggesting that the majority of people [...]
Bruce hopes to silence doubters June 3, 2009 FOOTBALL: Tynesider Steve Bruce says he hopes to win over his Wearside doubters after finally being confirmed as Sunderland manager yesterday. Bruce, a lifelong Newcastle fan, received a mixed welcome at the club after the Black Cats agreed a £3m compensation package with Wigan. Bruce said: “It’s results on the pitch that matter. I hope [...]