Rights issue flop knocks housebuilder July 3, 2008 The future of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was in doubt yesterday as the beleaguered group failed to raise £500m of capital from investors, causing the value of the company to halve. Britain’s largest builder issued an intensely gloomy statement, saying it was slashing 900 jobs, it was not buying any more land, and admitted it was [...]
US in bear territory July 3, 2008 Another torrid day of trading on Wall Street plunged America into an official bear market last night for the first time as oil prices hit a fresh high. A technical bear market occurs when shares are seen to have fallen by a fifth from their previous highs. Oil moved above $144 in New York, while [...]
Rose’s future on the line as sales decline July 3, 2008 Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose faces the battle of his life next week as he explains to shareholders, already angry about his cavalier approach to corporate governance, the reasons for its rapid sales decline. M&S shares crashed more than 24 per cent as stunned City analysts slashed their forecasts after the retailer said [...]
Double dose of corporate woe leaves City investors reeling July 3, 2008 The city was left reeling yesterday after retail giant Marks & Spencer issued a shock profits warning and Britain’s largest housebuilder Taylor Wimpey admitted it had been unable to secure £500m in funding. The bleak news from M&S, an industry bellwether, that the consumer downturn was likely to be “longer and harder fought” than previously [...]
Police arrest 1,200 in knife crackdown July 3, 2008 Police have arrested 1,214 people in London during a six-week crackdown on knife crime, Scotland Yard said yesterday. Officers found 528 knives after conducting nearly 27,000 searches during Operation Blunt 2, launched after Boris Johnson was elected London Mayor in May pledging to tackle knife crime in the capital. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair announced [...]
Tsvangirai snubs unity talks July 3, 2008 Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday rejected talks on a unity government, saying President Robert Mugabe must first stop violence and accept him as the rightful election winner. African Union leaders called at a summit on Tuesday for the two sides to negotiate to end the crisis after Mugabe’s re-election in a 27 June ballot [...]
BA snaps up French carrier for £54m July 3, 2008 British Airways struck a deal to buy French business-class rival L’Avion for £54m yesterday to boost its new OpenSkies subsidiary, which flies between continental Europe and America. BA will add L’Avion, which began flying between Paris and London last January, to its OpenSkies unit, which began operations last month. The flag carrier’s OpenSkies service is [...]
Apprentice boss Sugar to quit Amstrad July 3, 2008 Sir Alan Sugar, the entrepreneur and star of the BBC reality TV show The Apprentice, has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, the electronics firm he founded at the tender age of 21. Though Sir Alan, now 61, said the move had been “planned for a while”, the self-made multi-millionaire is adamant he is not [...]
CRH hit by sharp fall in house building July 3, 2008 Irish building materials firm CRH said yesterday that it expects a “high single percentage” drop in pre-tax profits this year, blaming a downturn in its key markets and a weakening dollar. It forecasts pre-tax profits to 30 June of €600m (£478m), compared with €670m in 2007. Following the news, shares in the second largest provider [...]
FSA clamps down on CFD investors July 3, 2008 Rules forcing contract for difference (CFD) holders to disclose long positions of three per cent have had a mixed reaction in the City. A clampdown by City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has long been anticipated due to fears that investors are using CFDs, which give exposure to a share for a fraction of [...]