De La Rue: No to French bid December 6, 2010 BANKNOTE printer De La Rue has rejected a £900m takeover approach made last month from French rival Oberthur Technologies. De La Rue, which has been investigating suspected wrongdoing by some staff over production irregularities, said the proposal – pitched at 905p – a 43 per cent premium to De La Rue’s closing share price on [...]
OFT says beer market fair October 14, 2010 The UK pub industry was cleared by competition watchdogs yesterday after a reopened investigation into controversial “beer ties”. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) stuck by its initial findings last October that there was no evidence that so-called tied prices – where pub companies compel tenants to buy drinks from them – damage competition. It [...]
FOCUS ON: HERTFORD November 18, 2010 VILLIERS STREET Price: £599,995 This four-bedroom townhouse is close to the town centre and it has been refurbished. Period features such as sash windows and fireplaces have been kept. There is a back garden. Contact: Hetheringtons on 01992 440000, hetheringtons.co.uk REVELLS HALL Price: £2.75m This Grade II-listed 16th century house has panoramic views across Ware [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL TAXING BEER REDUCE BINGE DRINKING? November 30, 2010 GRAEME MATTHEWS | SYTNER GROUP “No – personally I believe that would not affect the supermarkets and other sellers. You can buy champagne for £15 a bottle at the moment – at the end of the day the consumer is the one that controls the market. And any tax will only really hit the minority [...]
Brewer Fuller warns over tough trading November 19, 2010 Brewer and pub operator Fuller, Smith & Turner has warned that the difficult economic climate could hit trading for a “considerable” time – but still reported a profit rise. Fuller’s half-year profit rose 11 per cent to £15.7m. But the planned VAT rise and government spending cuts continued to overshadow the market, the company said. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 28, 2010 ENTERPRISE INNS Numis rates the pub chain a “buy” with a target price of 155p. The broker recently met with management, and believes the firm’s shares should rise if it can return to growth in one or two years as planned, with flat profit in 2011. Shareholders could also benefit from the firm’s excess cash [...]
BP MAKES HEALTH AND SAFETY TOP PRIORITY January 20, 2011 GIVEN BP’s recent misadventures in the Gulf of Mexico – and the subsequent $20bn (£12.6bn) it has sunk into a compensation fund – The Capitalist is relieved to note that safety is top of the agenda for visitors to BP’s offices. Indeed, some may argue that BP has gone rather overboard with its ‘elf ‘n’ [...]
BP MAKES HEALTH AND SAFETY TOP PRIORITY January 20, 2011 GIVEN BP’s recent misadventures in the Gulf of Mexico – and the subsequent $20bn (£12.6bn) it has sunk into a compensation fund – The Capitalist is relieved to note that safety is top of the agenda for visitors to BP’s offices. Indeed, some may argue that BP has gone rather overboard with its ‘elf ‘n’ [...]
FIT IN THE CITY January 24, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT PIERRE Meyer used to be a Marketing Manager at Krispy Kreme, helping the American doughnut giant get more cakes down British throats. Nowadays, however, you’ll find him in his Nordic Balance gym, a club in the heart of Mayfair he set up with partner Jo, preaching balance in all things. While [...]
Don’t let your CFD provider take you for an expensive ride February 21, 2011 THE tail end of last week saw reports that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) had upheld a barrage of complaints surrounding transaction charges on Contracts for Difference (CFD). With this in mind, what should you look out for and what should you do to keep your CFD earnings intact? Martyn Jones of the Financial Ombudsman [...]