WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AXA PUTS SPOTLESS UP FOR SALE Spotless, the French maker of laundry and cleaning products, could become the latest “pass-the-parcel” deal between private equity groups, after Axa Private Equity put it up for sale with a €600m-€700m price tag. A recent recovery in debt markets has encouraged private equity groups to become more [...]
NAB prepares to kick start consolidation December 17, 2009 NATIONAL Australian Bank (NAB) chief executive Cameron Clyne yesterday admitted it has received approaches about using its Clydesdale and Yorkshire operations to lead a banking consolidation drive in Britain. Speaking to shareholders at the institution’s annual meeting Clyne said: “We have been approached by a number of players in the UK market to see how we [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES VANTIS FALLS £10.7M INTO THE RED Vantis, the AIM-quoted company acting as a liquidator to Stanford International Bank, fell £10.7m into the red in its first half to 31 October. The accountancy and professional services group incurred £11.7m of exceptional charges, mostly an impairment of current and intangible assets after a review following [...]
Lending restrictions in China turn the screw on the miners January 20, 2010 TOP shares recorded a three-week closing low yesterday as more signs of fiscal tightening in China hurt commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 92.34 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 5,420.80 – the lowest closing level since December 31, 2009. It posted its biggest one-day fall in a month. The index is up 57 [...]
Travelport in pole position in float queue January 17, 2010 TRAVELPORT looks set to become the most expensive company to float on the stock exchange in two years. It will be amongst the first in a slew of companies seeking an IPO in the coming months. The airline and hotel reservations firm, which operates in 160 countries, has plans for flotation in London and hopes [...]
Banks and miners lift FTSE but retail shares take a dive January 14, 2010 STRENGTH in miners helped Britain’s top share index to a 0.5 per cent rise by yesterday’s close after soaring output figures from Rio Tinto boosted the sector, but retailers fell on weak trading updates. The FTSE 100 ended 24.72 points higher at 5,498.20 after falling for two days, pressured by China’s decision to tighten banks’ [...]
Bank gave secret 62bn loan to HBOS and RBS November 24, 2009 THE Bank of England has revealed for the first time that it lent Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS £61.6bn in a bid to save the financial system from collapse. Governor Mervyn King yesterday admitted a secret deal had been done last November as the lenders struggled for survival. But the undercover nature of [...]
Sell-off in bank and mining shares rocks the FTSE 100 January 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 0.5 per cent yesterday as weakness in commodity and banking issues countered gains in selected defensive stocks, reflecting fading risk appetite among some investors. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.23 points lower at 5,473.48, having lost 0.7 per cent on Tuesday following China’s decision to tighten banks’ reserve [...]
Business fund in doubt as banks pull out December 17, 2009 THE government’s proposed fund to stimulate lending to businesses was in trouble last night after it emerged a number of major banks may refuse to contribute amid a row over bankers’ bonuses. Standard Chartered has already turned down ministers’ requests to provide at least £25m to support the launch of the National Investment Corporation (NIC) [...]
Investors back RBS on bad debts scheme December 15, 2009 SMALL sharesholders in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bank joining a government-backed insurance scheme for bad debts yesterday. Some 99 per cent of minority investors in RBS, now 84 per cent state-owned, supported the decision to join the asset-protection scheme at a meeting at the company’s Edinburgh headquarters. The [...]