Europe’s debt crisis is getting worse July 15, 2011 EMPIRES seem to be going out of fashion. It is not just News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media colossus, which is in trouble; the Eurozone, a very different political conglomerate, is unravelling in front of our eyes. The next step in its demise will come when the results of the stress tests for Europe’s 91 largest [...]
Europe’s debt crisis is getting worse July 14, 2011 EMPIRES seem to be going out of fashion. It is not just News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media colossus, which is in trouble; the Eurozone, a very different political conglomerate, is unravelling in front of our eyes. The next step in its demise will come when the results of the stress tests for Europe’s 91 largest [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 14, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LAFARGE IN TALKS TO SELL PLASTERBOARD ARM Lafarge is closing in on the sale of its plasterboard business as the French cement maker pushes ahead with its debt reduction programme and attempts to recover its investment grade credit rating. The world’s second-largest cement company by revenue said on Thursday it had entered exclusive [...]
Yell sinks despite rescue plan July 14, 2011 YELL crashed more than 20 per cent yesterday after the announcement of its digital turnaround plan and a lack of clarification on its debt pile left investors cold. If successful, the four year strategy would see Yell return to growth by 2015, with its emphasis on providing digital services to local markets. The drop wiped [...]
Yell surges on ad deal with Microsoft July 12, 2011 YELL shares surged yesterday after the Yellow Pages publisher announced a tie-up with Microsoft to boost the exposure of its online and mobile advertising. The group’s shares, which have fallen by around half of their value since the beginning of the year gained more than 15 per cent during trading yesterday. The embattled firm, which [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 11, 2011 Begbies Traynor Group The professional services consultancy has appointed Mark Fry as head of insolvency and restructuring. Fry joined the group in 2005 as a partner in its Insolvency and Restructuring division, rising to become both managing partner of the group’s London office and regional managing partner for London and the South East. His recent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JLR IN 50 PER CENT BOOST TO SPENDING Jaguar Land Rover is to boost its spending on products by 50 per cent from about £1bn to £1.5bn as the UK’s largest premium carmaker prepares to launch the most important vehicle since Tata Motors bought the group from Ford Motor three years ago. CHI-X [...]
GREECE VOTES TO CUT ITS DEFICIT June 30, 2011 MARKETS rallied after the Greek parliament fell into line yesterday and voted through the budget laws needed to qualify for a €12bn (£10.8bn) aid tranche. The result means that Greece has passed the last hurdle standing in the way of the rescue funds that prevent a disorderly default in the next month. The aid will [...]
Jane Norman pre-pack deal sparks a row June 28, 2011 ADMINISTRATORS to struggling retailer Jane Norman yesterday sold off 33 stores in a controversial pre-pack administration that has refueled the debate into this route for insolvent companies. Edinburgh Woollen Mills, which was lined up as a buyer by PwC before the company was handed over to its administrators Zolfo Cooper, has agreed to buy a [...]
CRUNCH TIME FOR THE HIGH STREET June 26, 2011 FASHION retailer Jane Norman was on the brink of collapse this weekend, after all of its stores across the UK were closed for business, signalling imminent insolvency. Zolfo Cooper, the US accounting firm, has been lined up to put the distressed fashion retailer into a pre-pack administration, which could be approved in court as soon [...]