Businesses still feeling the pinch on bank loans October 10, 2010 CASH-STRAPPED UK companies are still struggling to get bank loans, a new survey has claimed. Almost 40 per cent of businesses surveyed said it had become harder to access bank lending over the past year, while 14 per cent believed it had worsened in the past three months. Yet 27 per cent said their need [...]
Flats for the Eurocrat: a Brussels bargain October 7, 2010 IF YOU’RE moving to Brussels, it’s unlikely to be for the Belgian beer, the moules-frites and the chocolates. Most Britons relocate to the Belgian capital for work and join the 100,000-strong expat community of European Union workers, lobbyists and lawyers for at least a year or two. While most expats tend to rent when they [...]
Private sector loans support solid SMEs September 30, 2010 In a speech on Wednesday, prominent backbench Conservative MP David Davis said that Britain must do more to help small and medium size businesses through the recession, but stressed that this did not mean forcing the banks to lend. Instead he argued that businesses themselves would be the source of the recovery. The government has [...]
Sanofi eyes higher Genzyme bid September 29, 2010 SANOFI-AVENTIS is considering whether to raise its $18.5bn (£12bn) bid for US drugmaker Genzyme as soon as next week. France’s largest drugmaker is said to be leaning towards raising the $69-a-share offer by $1 or $2 a share. It has not ruled out a hostile bid but would prefer friendly negotiations, it is understood. Sanofi [...]
Top 100 list shows women at senior level September 26, 2010 MORE than a fifth of Europe’s 100 most influential women sit at the top of some of the largest companies within the financial services sector, according to new findings. According to the fourth annual list of the 100 most influential women compiled by Financial News, more than 20 per cent of the listed women in [...]
Knight Frank cautious after bumper year September 26, 2010 ESTATE agent Knight Frank said it expects to suffer after the government’s spending review next month, as the firm announced a 168 per cent rise in profit to £58.4m for last year. The group said yesterday that all of its branches were in profit, with particular strength in the UK and Asia pushing revenue up [...]
United fight back but let chance slip September 26, 2010 BOLTON WANDERERS (2) vs MANCHESTER UTD (2) IT WAS meant to be the win that thrust them back on the heels of leaders Chelsea, but in the end Manchester United left Bolton with only a draw, salvaged in the closing stages by substitute Michael Owen. To make matters worse for manager Sir Alex Ferguson, United [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 22, 2010 SONDHEIM AT THE DONMAR Stephen Sondheim, the man who wrote Send in the Clowns and the creative force behind musicals including A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and – as lyricist – West Side Story, is 80 this year. Passion, one of his more recent works, is a tale of love, obsession and power set [...]
Sinochem hires banks as it eyes rival bid for Potash September 22, 2010 China’s Sinochem Corp has hired investment banks to look at toppling BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£24bn) bid for Potash Corp, sources said, as the miner warned it would not be caught in an expensive bidding war for the world’s largest fertiliser group. State-owned chemicals group Sinochem has hired Deutsche Bank and Citigroup to evaluate measures to [...]
Canada forces BHP to extend Potash offer September 21, 2010 MINER BHP Billiton was yesterday forced to extend the deadline for its offer for Canada’s PotashCorp by a month to comply with regulatory requests for extra information. PotashCorp investors now have until 18 November to accept, though analysts at Citigroup warned shareholders may prove unwilling to sell up unless BHP raises its $130-per-share offer – [...]