Anglo steps up its defences June 28, 2009 MINING titan Anglo American is gearing up to defend itself against rival Xstrata’s merger approach, by stepping up efforts to appoint a new chairman, and hatching plans for talks with China. The company has drawn up a short list of preferred candidates for the job, understood to include industrial heavyweight Sir John Parker and former [...]
Bank inflation report due as City heads for holiday season August 9, 2009 With the streets of the City emptying as weary workers head for sunnier climes, the torrent of company results slows to a trickle this week, but the markets will be scrutinising the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report. The Bank, which releases its report on Wednesday, is expected to predict that inflation will stay low [...]
Eurasian leads the miners higher while Lloyds shines August 19, 2009 THE FTSE 100 share index inched higher yesterday, helped by oil producers, which gained on firmer crude prices as US demand recovered, but banks fell after HSBC traded ex-dividend. The index closed up by 3.89 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 4,689.67, after trading as low as 4,625.44 earlier in the day. Volumes on the [...]
Even a saloon can be sexy when it’s made by Porsche September 15, 2009 IT was with surprise that we learnt that Porsche was going to build a four-door car. Porsche has always made two-door sportscars, why would it want to sink its teeth into the saloon market? But the same question was asked when they went into 4×4 territory with the Cayenne. There are enough manufacturers out there [...]
Even a saloon can be sexy when it’s made by Porsche September 15, 2009 IT was with surprise that we learnt that Porsche was going to build a four-door car. Porsche has always made two-door sportscars, why would it want to sink its teeth into the saloon market? But the same question was asked when they went into 4×4 territory with the Cayenne. There are enough manufacturers out there [...]
M&A sector to dine out on Rio Tinto venture June 14, 2009 THE JOINT venture between mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto is to pay dividends for the revenue-hungry investment-banking sector, with Morgan Stanley, Gresham Partners, Goldman Sachs and Lazard lining up to benefit from the deal. The deal, the second largest so far in a year where mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity is down 43 [...]
M&A sector to dine out on Rio Tinto venture June 14, 2009 THE JOINT venture between mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto is to pay dividends for the revenue-hungry investment-banking sector, with Morgan Stanley, Gresham Partners, Goldman Sachs and Lazard lining up to benefit from the deal. The deal, the second largest so far in a year where mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity is down 43 [...]
Large cap index back on the up as sentiment stays high August 12, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed up by 1 per cent yesterday, as investors took their positions ahead of last night’s Federal Reserve statement on US growth prospects. The index ended 45.42 points higher at 4,716.76, after closing down 1.1 per cent on Tuesday, its biggest fall in a fortnight after hitting 2009 highs on Friday. “Great, [...]
THE LONDON REPORT August 5, 2009 The FTSE 100 closed down 0.5 per cent yesterday, after weaker than expected economic data in the US dragged equities lower, with oil producers and miners leading the losers. The index ended 24.24 points lower at 4,647.13, shy of Monday’s close when it hit its best closing level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers late [...]
Not Fiat for purpose September 1, 2009 I WAS driving another car altogether recently with a motoring pal and we got on to the subject of the Fiat 500. We naturally progressed on to this high-performance version of the car. Fiat has taken the much-loved 500 and let loose Abarth, the designer which is to Fiat what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. It [...]