Boomtime for Credit Suisse November 3, 2005 Credit Suisse became the latest big bank to report soaring profits on the back of stronger financial markets. The Swiss bank reported a 42 per cent rise in third quarter profits to Sfr1.92bn (£846m) thanks to growth across its investment banking, private banking and asset management divisions. Oswald Grübel, chief executive, called the results “satisfactory”. [...]
Party like it’s 1999 November 2, 2005 Mergers and acquisitions are back and they’re almost as lucrative as they were during the last feverish round. It’s a throwback to the turn of the century: multibillion pound mergers are announced by the day, the stock market is soaring, city pubs and wine bars are buzzing. All that’s missing is the sight of grown [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
P&O faces £3bn bid from Dubai October 31, 2005 P&O, the ferries, ports and freight business, is bracing itself for a takeover approach from Dubai Ports World that could value the company at up to £3bn. Britain’s largest ports group, and the fourth largest in the world, said last night it had received an approach from a third party, although it declinedto identify the [...]
The art of business October 24, 2005 With corporate curators taking more risks in their purchasing policy, staff around the City are being exposed to more cutting edge art than ever before. An excitable group of schoolboys snakes along one of the corridors of Deutsche Bank’s Winchester House offices in the heart of the City. They bob around a lithograph of a [...]
Crash Course? October 24, 2005 On the anniversary of the 1929 stock market collapse, Laurie Laird asks if we are in danger of repeating that disaster. What year is it? It’s October, and the autumn fashion shows have featured falling hemlines and rising waistbands — the wasp waist is back. On the economics front, the world’s biggest economy has been [...]
Violet Hue October 18, 2005 Tchenguiz is the last man standing in the race for Somerfield. Another one bites the dust. Amid talk of a high-street bloodbath in the run-up to Christmas, Somerfield has joined the lengthening list of retailers opting to leave the glare of the stock market. Of course, the announcement surprised no one. Somerfield has been on [...]
Partygaming winners are the founders October 17, 2005 PartyGaming, the online poker company, reveals its hand on Friday and investors in this summer’s flotation will be able to see the cause of their losses. The company came to market on the back of rapid growth: this week it will reveal that growth has ground to a halt. Do not compare this week’s revenue [...]