TUI seeks to raise £500m for warchest April 20, 2010 TUI Travel, Europe’s biggest travel firm, says it plans to raise £500m in new financing to fund acquisitions. The company behind Thomson and First Choice has taken a hit of £26m as a result of the subsequent disruption caused by the volcanic ash. But the group remains bullish and said yesterday the fund-raising would ensure [...]
Avangard to raise £163m April 19, 2010 AVANGARD, Ukraine’s biggest producer of eggs, yesterday confirmed it plans to raise as much as £163m in a London share issue, valuing the company at $890m. The company wants to use the proceeds of the offering to finance the expansion of its egg business through capital expenditures. This includes the completion of construction of two [...]
L’Occitane to list in Hong Kong April 18, 2010 Cosmetics retailer L’Occitane International plans to raise up to $708m (£460.9m) in a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said last night. L’Occitane, which manufactures products including almond and olive-based creams, would be the first French company to list in Hong Kong. The company was not immediately available for comment. [...]
Flight chaos in wake of volcano blast April 15, 2010 THE vast cloud of volcanic dust blasted into the atmosphere by a gigantic underwater eruption in Iceland was still causing flight chaos this morning. All commercial flights were scrapped yesterday after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, situated under a glacier, sent a noxious dust-cloud drifting South across Europe. Flight delays are now expected to last for several [...]
Q&A: ICELANDIC VOLCANO April 15, 2010 Q. HOW MANY FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED? A. Every single commercial flight out of the UK was grounded yesterday. At least 600 British Airways flights were included. Flights in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Russia were also affected. Q. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM FLYING TODAY? A. Airports owner BAA and airlines recommend [...]
Sberbank sees profits soar as bad loans drop April 15, 2010 SBERBANK, Russia’s biggest lender, said yesterday that quarterly net profit jumped to 43.2bn roubles (£1bn), from 0.3bn roubles a year ago. The significant improvement was a result of a sharp reduction in provision charges for bad loans, the company added. State-controlled Sberbank, which holds roughly a quarter of Russia’s total banking assets, hopes to earn [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 15, 2010 Deloitte The accountancy firm has appointed Mark Lillie and Jeremy Harris as partners in its energy, infrastructure and utility practice. Lillie, pictured, will head up the IT strategy team and joins from Booz and Company, where he was partner and vice president. Harris joins the programme leadership consulting practice, focusing on construction and infrastructure projects, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BP TO PRESS ON WITH CANADA OIL SANDS PLAN BP will press ahead with its plan to invest in Canada’s controversial oil sands, the company will signal at Thursday’s annual general meeting, in spite of protests from environmentalists and concerns among some shareholders. More than 140 investors have backed a resolution calling for [...]
Toyota suspends US Lexus SUV sales April 14, 2010 TOYOTA has suspended sales of a new Lexus SUV in the US market to investigate the risks of the vehicles rolling. The company has stopped sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after consumer reports suggested that the vehicles handled badly on some turns with possible “safety risks” attached. Toyota, which also sells the Lexus [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS April 13, 2010 FUND MANAGERS MOVE OVERSEAS The prospect of tighter regulation and higher taxes has led to an 80 per cent increase in fund managers’ enquiries about relocation from the UK, according to Laven Partners, the consulting group. The prospect that the fund management industry will be exposed to new rules from the Alternative Investment Fund Management [...]