Sunday newspaper round-up: ENRC, Bank Commission, Vodafone...
19th Sep 2010 11:13
Sir Richard Sykes, former chairman of Glaxo Smith Kline, the drugs giant, faces the risk of being "blackballed" from the City in a growing row over a disputed African mining deal. Some of the Square Mile's biggest investors are furious with Sykes over his role as senior independent director of Eura
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Prudential, Betfair, Vodafone...
12th Sep 2010 10:26
A group of Chinese investors is in the early stages of considering a takeover offer for Prudential, Britain's biggest insurer. The billionaire entrepreneurs were among the Asian backers who wanted to throw their weight behind Prudential's failed $35bn (£22.8 billion) takeover bid for its Asian riva
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Connaught, Vodafone, Deutsche Bank...
10th Sep 2010 06:40
Morgan Sindall will today announce the acquisition of the bulk of Connaught's social housing repairs operations in a deal that will save thousands of jobs across the country. While the deal, believed to be worth between £20m and £40m, will secure the future of about 2,500 jobs, thousands more rema
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks lead index higher
9th Sep 2010 15:52
Banks are leading the Footsie's rise with Barclays and RBS topping the best performers. Lloyds is also boosted by the sale of its debt holding in housebuilder Crest Nicholson. Miners such as Xstrata and Vedanta are recovering even though metals prices are weak. Chip designer ARM continues to r
Read moreLondon close: US spurs Footsie recovery
8th Sep 2010 16:36
Footsie put its weak start behind it to close with good gains, helped by buoyant trading on Wall Street. US shares recovered from losses yesterday that snapped a recent winning streak. Among the risers here was ARM Holdings. UBS has issued a downbeat assessment of the European semiconductor mark
Read more$2.6bn tax threat for Vodafone
8th Sep 2010 15:49
Vodafone plans to appeal the Bombay High Court decision that it is liable for tax on its 2007 acquisition of a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar. Vodafone had appealed to the Bombay High Court about a ruling by the Indian tax department that it could levy tax on the company's $11.2bn acquisition. Ther
Read moreLondon afternoon: ARM in line for Samsung boost
8th Sep 2010 14:28
Footsie emerged from the lunch-time session nursing a small gain, with the majority of the blue-chip index's constituents in positive territory. Chief among them was chip designer ARM Holdings. UBS has issued a downbeat assessment of the European semiconductor market but it has made an exception o
Read moreLondon midday: BP spreads the blame
8th Sep 2010 12:00
It's back to square one for London with the Footsie virtually unchanged at the end of the morning session after early losses were wiped out. News that the US markets look set to open firmer after yesterday's triple-digit fall for the Dow has bolstered confidence this side of the pond. BP edged high
Read moreLondon open: Dull start for blue chips
8th Sep 2010 08:45
Last night's triple-digit drop on Wall Street and further losses in Asia meant a poor start in London. US stocks fell on concerns about the European bank stress tests. Property groups are the best performers with Land Securities, Hammerson and British Land all rising strongly. A potential politic
Read moreLondon pre-open: Heading south
8th Sep 2010 07:36
Last night's triple-digit drop on Wall Street and further losses in Asia this morning point to a poor start for London Wednesday. US stocks fell on concerns about the European bank stress tests. Futures prices currently indicate a 20-point fall for the FTSE 100. Vodafone is selling its 3.2% stake
Read moreVodafone gets £4.3bn for China Mobile stake
8th Sep 2010 07:02
Vodafone is selling its 3.2% stake in China Mobile for £4.3bn ($6.6bn) in cash as part of the mobile phone giant's strategy of exiting its smaller investments. It will return about 70% of the money to shareholders through share buybacks and use the rest to slim down its £33bn debt pile. All Vodafo
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Barclays, HSBC, BP...
8th Sep 2010 06:34
The appointment of Bob Diamond as chief executive of one of Britain's biggest banks has split the coalition along party lines, it emerged last night. Downing Street and the Treasury ? both of which were told of the appointment before it was announced ? insisted that they were relaxed about the prom
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Vodafone, George Osborne, BP...
5th Sep 2010 10:01
Two of Britain's best-known company bosses are poised to step down in a dramatic changing of the guard in FTSE 100 boardrooms. Headhunters have been called in to find a replacement for Sir John Bond as chairman of Vodafone, the mobile phone giant. Sir John Parker, meanwhile, is in the early stages
Read moreLondon close: US jobs data buoys Footsie
3rd Sep 2010 16:33
Footsie was buoyant as trading closed for the weekend following some well-received US jobs data. The number of Americans who lost their jobs in August was 54,000 compared with predictions of over 100,000. The payrolls count in both the previous two months was also revised higher, exciting another
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie hits 4-month peak
3rd Sep 2010 14:13
Dealing rooms across the City strapped on their buying boots ahead of the weekend following a much smaller than expected fall in US nonfarm payrolls. The number of Americans who lost their jobs in August was 54,000 compared with predictions of over 100,000. The payrolls count in both the previous t
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