ENLARGED RETURNS TO GREET M&S SHOPPERS October 4, 2010 FINALLY – the working man’s answer to the wonderbra has arrived: M&S has just unveiled its brand new range of “enhancing underpants” for men. The pants come in two styles: “a bum-lift pant” and a “frontal enhancement pant”, one intended to project the image of a well-firmed posterior and the other giving City money men [...]
ENLARGED RETURNS TO GREET M&S SHOPPERS October 4, 2010 FINALLY – the working man’s answer to the wonderbra has arrived: M&S has just unveiled its brand new range of “enhancing underpants” for men. The pants come in two styles: “a bum-lift pant” and a “frontal enhancement pant”, one intended to project the image of a well-firmed posterior and the other giving City money men [...]
Prudential seals £23bn deal for AIG’s Asian arm March 1, 2010 INSURANCE giant Prudential (PRU) has snapped up the Asian operations of US insurer AIG for £23bn in a move which will transform the company. The UK’s largest insurer has agreed to pay $25bn in cash and $10.5bn in equity. Prudential in turn will seek to tap shareholders for around $20bn and issue $5 bn of [...]
US-based ICE touted as the Tullett bidder March 10, 2010 AMERICAN exchange operator IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) has been touted as the most likely bidder for Tullett Prebon, the inter-dealer broker headed by Terry Smith, which yesterday confirmed it was in early-stage talks with an unnamed potential buyer. Tullett said it was in preliminary discussions which “may or may not lead to an offer being made for [...]
Coca-Cola bottling unit eyes UK listing February 25, 2010 COCA-COLA yesterday bought the struggling US operations of its largest bottler for roughly $15bn (£9.75bn), including debt, in a deal that gives a London base for the European operations of the bottling operations, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE). Based in Uxbridge west London, where it employs 4,000 people, CCE may now be listed on the London Stock [...]
Profits flat at Tenon after acquisition March 24, 2010 ENTREPRENEURIAL business advisory firm RSM Tenon yesterday said profits remained broadly flat over the first half of its financial year after the group completed its largest-ever acquisition, adding that it plans to move to London’s official list before mid-2010. Tenon said adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £5.9m for the six months to December, up [...]
A bright future for 10-year-old European ETFs April 14, 2010 IT WAS 10 years ago this week that Merrill Lynch unveiled the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Europe and listed them on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Britain was not far behind – iShares launched its first FTSE 100 ETF on the London Stock Exchange on 28 April 2000. A decade later, the European ETF industry [...]
City Eye February 2, 2010 MANNEQUINS cast a surly stare over passers-by in front of New Look on London Wall, on the day the fashion retailer confirmed plans to raise up to £650m via a London Stock Exchange float.
LSE welcomes £900m flood of new floats March 24, 2010 FOUR separate companies raised a total of over £900m yesterday as they floated on the London Stock Exchange, the best day for listings in the City since May 2008. African Barrick Gold (ABG) raised £581m as it came to the market at 575p per share – the largest initial public offering on the LSE in [...]
Profitable Bovis gets set for a spending spree March 8, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis is steaming ahead with plans to invest in new land after moving back into profit in 2009. The FTSE 250 group says it has restarted its land acquisition scheme with four sites with planning consent snapped up in the fourth quarter of 2009 and terms agreed on another 15. It had £122m net [...]