Blunkett set to sell shares November 1, 2005 Beleaguered Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett said yesterday his family will sell shares he bought in a biotech firm, DNA Bioscience. In a written statement Blunkett said he had asked his sons to authorise trustees “to dispose of the shares.” The decision comes after Prime Minister Tony Blair asked the Cabinet Secretary to see [...]
P&O bidding war hots up November 1, 2005 Shares in P&O Ferries surged yesterday as the prospect of a bidding war for the group intensified after it confirmed Dubai Ports World had made a takeover offer. P&O shares rocketed to 425p in early trade and ended the day 30 per cent up at 404p. It is understood UAE government-owned Dubai Ports will face [...]
GM and SAIC to build ‘green’ cars November 1, 2005 American carmaker General Motors and China’s SAIC have signed an agreement to collaborate on manufacturing fuel-efficient hybrid cars for the Chinese market. GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner and SAIC chairman Hu Maoyuan signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday in Shanghai that will see the two firms working together to develop a range of [...]
Nippon in Pilkington talks November 1, 2005 Shares in St Helen’s-based glass producer Pilkington jumped 25 per cent after confirmation that it is in merger talks with Japanese company Nippon Sheet Glass. Analysts questioned the strategy behind Nippon’s approach, but the stock market was convinced as Pilkington’s shares finished the day at 153.25p a share, up 26.50p. Pilkington’s share price initially spiked [...]
JD Group snaps up Allsports November 1, 2005 Sports retailer John David Group yesterday swooped on stricken rival Allsports in an £18m store and stock deal. Private equity and trade interest in Britain’s fourth-largest sports retailer had fallen away. Retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley is thought to have walked away last week but Ashley has been building a stake in John David Group, suggesting [...]
Mortgage approvals at a year high November 1, 2005 Bank of England data released yesterday sent out mixed messages, with mortgage approvals at their highest level in more than a year, but unsecured lending slowing down. Bank figures showed that house purchase approvals rose to 107,000 in September, up marginally from 106,000 in August. This puts mortgage approvals at their highest level since June [...]
AOL’s co-founder Case quits Time Warner November 1, 2005 The curtain came down yesterday on what some consider to be one of the biggest corporate mistakes of recent times as Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, quit the board of Time Warner. Case was instrumental in brokering a deal in 2000 that saw AOL merge with Time Warner creating the world’s largest media company in [...]
Telefonica agrees £18bn deal for O2 November 1, 2005 Long term takeover target O2 has agreed to a £17.7bn offer from Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica in a deal that will see yet another British phone firm fall to foreign ownership. Since leaving BT four years ago O2’s relatively small size in Europe has seen it touted as the perfect target for acquisitive rivals. O2 [...]
A reserved man October 31, 2005 The new nominee for the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve has a background in academia rather than finance and is thought to be weak on inflation. Markets are being urged to wait before rushing to judgement. Can you ever replace a god? On 24 October George W Bush made an attempt, nominating the head of [...]
Ekay heading for AIM October 31, 2005 Advertising agency Ekay is to float on AIM at the end of November, eleven years after the founder established the company. The company, which provides advertising consultancy and other services for small and medium-sized enterprises, plans to raise about £3m for a total value of £11.5m when it floats on 30 November. The chief executive [...]