What the other papers say this morning January 4, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOND SURGE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC AS COMPANIES VIE FOR FUNDS Companies have embarked on an early-year rush to issue debt in an effort to beat rivals and secure financing before any rise in borrowing costs.The surge in bond issuance on both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday came as equity [...]
FTSE treads water as fears over European debts weigh December 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed little changed yesterday as persistent concerns over Europe’s debt problems capped moves on the upside while BP fell after the US government launched a lawsuit over the Gulf oil spill. The FTSE 100 ended down 1.06 points at 5,881.12. The index ebbed away from an intra-day high of 5,907.10, with analysts [...]
Warner in $750m bid for EMI division November 14, 2010 WARNER Brothers could be about to make a $750m (£465m) bid for troubled record label EMI’s recorded music division with the formal bid potentially being lodged with the record label’s owner, private equity group Terra Firma, within weeks, according to a report in a Sunday newspaper. While Terra Firma boss Guy Hands has said he [...]
US sues American Express October 4, 2010 The Justice Department sued American Express yesterday, saying its rules preventing retailers from encouraging consumers to use cheaper, rival credit cards violate antitrust law. The Justice Department settled with Visa and MasterCard, which agreed to allow merchants to offer discounts to consumers who use less expensive types of credit or debit cards. The lawsuit has [...]
Takeover target Potash smashes profit expectations thanks to strong demand October 28, 2010 PotasH, the world’s top fertiliser maker, steamrolled quarterly earnings expectations yesterday, on the back of stronger potash demand and higher prices for its nitrogen and phosphate-based nutrients. The Canadian fertiliser maker is currently battling a $39bn (£24.4bn) hostile bid from mining giant BHP Billiton. Potash Corp has flatly rejected BHP’s bid and launched a lawsuit [...]
PotashCorp sues BHP over hostile offer September 22, 2010 CANADIAN fertiliser firm PotashCorp yesterday buttressed its defences against BHP Billiton’s hostile $39bn (£24.9bn) bid, filing a lawsuit against the miner in an Illinois federal court. The suit came as BHP’s chief executive Marius Kloppers faced the scrutiny of investors over his $11.3m paycheque for the past financial year – a 9 per cent increase [...]
GSK hit with $750m fine October 26, 2010 GlaxoSmithKline yesterday agreed to pay $750m (£473m) after pleading guilty to manufacturing and distributing adulterated drugs from a plant in Puerto Rico. The company admitted in July it had reached an agreement in principle relating to problems at the plant and would pay out to resolve the allegations. The case centred around the anti-nausea medicine [...]
BHP fights for a Potash deal October 31, 2010 BHP BILLITON faces a crucial week in its fight to buy Potash Corp, with the Canadian government and US courts deciding whether to allow its $39bn (£24.7bn) hostile offer to proceed. Potash attempted to goad BHP into raising its $130 a share bid at the weekend in a Canadian court filing, claiming it was “very [...]
Rolls-Royce sued over patent September 27, 2010 In a continuing battle over engine part designs, jet engine-maker Pratt & Whitney yesterday sued Rolls Royce, accusing the British company of misleading the US Patent and Trademark Office to obtain a patent. Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies, said in its lawsuit that Rolls-Royce’s patent is invalid and unenforceable. The East Hartford-based [...]
UBS pledges not to pursue its former bosses and apologises for huge losses October 14, 2010 UBS has apologised for huge losses suffered during the US sub-prime crisis that forced a bailout of the Swiss bank, but refused to take legal action against former executives and board members. UBS lost billions of dollars during the global economic crisis and the confidence of many investors during a long tax row with Washington. [...]