WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BAIN PULLS OUT OF RAC AUCTION Bain Capital has pulled out of the bidding for RAC, the roadside rescue business of UK insurer Aviva. The US private equity group last week dropped out of the auction after bidding less than its rivals, people close to the situation said. That leaves Carlyle, Clayton Dubilier [...]
FTSE 100 sinks below 6,000 as banks and miners tumble May 11, 2011 COMMODITY and banking stocks dragged the FTSE 100 back below the 6,000 level yesterday, with these sectors pressured by Greece’s debt problems and uncertainty over global economic growth. London’s blue chip index closed down 42.89 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,976.00, having hit a one-week closing high on Tuesday. Atif Latif, director of trading [...]
Commodities drag on FTSE but high street names rally May 4, 2011 COMMODITY stocks pulled Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, ending the FTSE 100’s recent rally as disappointing US manufacturing data spoiled investors’ appetite for risk. The FTSE 100 closed down 98.81 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,984.07, with the FTSE volatility index up 11.4 per cent, hitting a near five-week high. The FTSE 100 [...]
Tesco to appeal to “aspirational” shoppers May 10, 2011 Tesco plans to create new brands to spruce up its product ranges and appeal to increasingly aspirational shoppers across the world, its new chief executive said. Phil Clarke, outlining his strategy for the supermarket group, also said Tesco would be online in all 15 of its markets this decade and, while it would continue to [...]
African MBAs – beating Bono at his own game May 18, 2011 GOVERNMENTS, NGOs, rock-stars and politicians of all stripes have tried to help African development. Now a wave of business schools is trying to do its bit. Henley, Edinburgh, Duke, Spain’s IESE and even Shanghai-based CEIBS have all gone into the continent with varying amounts of fanfare. In theory, they should be able to do a [...]
African MBAs – beating Bono at his own game May 18, 2011 GOVERNMENTS, NGOs, rock-stars and politicians of all stripes have tried to help African development. Now a wave of business schools is trying to do its bit. Henley, Edinburgh, Duke, Spain’s IESE and even Shanghai-based CEIBS have all gone into the continent with varying amounts of fanfare. In theory, they should be able to do a [...]
Rich rewards for Coffee Nation team after sale March 2, 2011 COFFEE Nation’s chief executive Scott Martin and his team will be sharing an estimated £11.9m pot after Whitbread yesterday announced that it had paid £59.5m in cash for the company. The management team bought the self service coffee company in 2008 with private equity backing from Investec and Milestone Capital. Other Coffee Nation executives in [...]
Intertek buys energy expert Moody for $730m March 7, 2011 Safety testing company Intertek is buying quality and safety services firm Moody International for $730m (£450m) in cash to add energy sector expertise. Intertek, which also reported forecast-beating full-year profits up 11 per cent, said the acquisition would drive expansion in two key areas, industry services and system certification. Intertek, which tests a range of [...]
Intertek buys energy expert Moody for $730m March 7, 2011 Safety testing company Intertek is buying quality and safety services firm Moody International for $730m (£450m) in cash to add energy sector expertise. Intertek, which also reported forecast-beating full-year profits up 11 per cent, said the acquisition would drive expansion in two key areas, industry services and system certification. Intertek, which tests a range of [...]
Unilever profit rises but fails to impress August 5, 2010 CONSUMER goods giant Unilever warned of rising pressure from rivals and higher commodity costs yesterday as it missed analysts’ forecasts with a 3.6 per cent rise in second-quarter sales despite strong emerging market growth. Unilever’s caution reflects the message from competitors like Procter & Gamble who have to spend heavily on new products to attract [...]