Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said today his Government can control stubbornly high inflation and rejected any changes to its tightly managed currency, the yuan. Last week, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed inflation rose 4.9% in February on an annual basis – the same figure as January. It remains well in excess of the [...]
There is speculation that Ireland is looking to its banks for emergency funding – the Irish Independent reported on Monday. The report comes as Ireland’s Government continues to reject claims that it is seeking emergency financial support via the EU rescue fund – established by European Governments and the International Monetary Fund after the Greek [...]
According to a report in the Financial Times, British banking giant Barclays has refused to sign up to Government lending targets, suggesting they could encourage irresponsible lending. Steve Cooper, head of Barclays’ small business division, told the FT: “I’m not going to sign up to a target. I don’t want to create an expectation that [...]
There are fresh concerns for more strikes at British Airways (BA) after cabin crew yet again rejected the airline’s offer to end their bitter row over cost-cutting measures. However, there was a low turnout for ballot, which “encouraged” the airline with less than half of the 11,000 members balloted by the Unite union casting a [...]
Nationwide Building Society is to terminate its £20 million sponsorship deal of the England football team after 11 seasons. The announcement is a further blow to the England team and follows its early exit from the World Cup tournament. The Nationwide, which is Britain’s largest building society, said it submitted an offer to extend the [...]
Brit Insurance has rejected a takeover bid of £10-a-share from US private equity firm, Apollo. Following the news, shares in Brit soared 20% after the company said the offer “significantly undervalues” the group. Brit, which became the England cricket team sponsor in January, saw its shares rise above the 900p mark on Friday, before falling [...]
Telecoms giant BT could be faced with industrial action after the union which represents BT workers has confirmed that a strike ballot will go ahead. The ballot will open on 18 June with the result is due on 5 July. The vote for strike action, which would be the first in 25 years, comes as [...]
The Unite union has said more strikes are possible at British Airways after it “strongly recommended” cabin crew members to reject the latest offer from the airline in a ballot. The offer from BA was aimed at ending a long-running dispute over cost-cutting measures, which include a pay freeze and a switch to part-time working [...]
Workers at British confectioner Cadbury are to stage a protest today in Bournville, Birmingham in a bid to urge shareholders to reject the takeover offer from US food giant, Kraft. Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee and Oreo biscuits, made an offer of £11.7 billion last week which 186-year-old Cadbury agreed [...]
British confectioner Cadbury, renowned for Dairy Milk chocolate, is awaiting the next move from US food giant, Kraft. Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee and Oreo biscuits, approached Cadbury in September with an informal £10.2 billion takeover offer, which Cadbury rejected. In November, Kraft made a second bid of £9.8 billion, [...]
Italian firm Ferrero, which makes Nutella chocolate spread and Ferrero Rocher chocolates, has declared itself out of the running for Cadbury. Late last year it was reported that US-based Hershey Co in partnership with Ferrero, were considering a bid for Cadbury. Hershey is the largest chocolate maker in the US and is controlled by the [...]
British confectioner Cadbury, renowned for Dairy Milk chocolate, urged shareholders today not to let Kraft “steal your company with its derisory offer“. Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, delivered the statement after it said it had enjoyed an “outstanding” performance in 2009, which exceeded market expectations. It said underlying revenues were up 5% in 2009, with a [...]
The board of British confectioner Cadbury has swiftly rejected the £9.8 billion ($16.4 billion) hostile bid from US food giant Kraft. The offer, which was put directly to Cadbury’s shareholders, was described by chairman Roger Carr as “derisory”. Kraft said it would offer 300p in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share, [...]
US food giant Kraft saw its shares fall 5% to $26.7 this morning on Wall Street as investors expressed concern about the group’s takeover approach for British confectionery giant Cadbury. Cadbury rejected the £10.2 billion offer from Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee, Oreo biscuits, Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Toblerone and cheese [...]
Banking giant HSBC has rejected the Government’s offer of emergency funding. The UK’s largest banking group said it had not sought capital support from the UK Government and cannot envisage circumstances where such action would be necessary. Unlike other banks, HSBC has been relatively unaffected by the credit crisis due to its focus on emerging [...]
The National Audit Office (NAO) is asserting that councils are rejecting planning applications in order to meet Government targets that offer rewards for speeding up the process. In a report published this week, the public spending watchdog suggests that targets demanded to qualify for grant funding actually encourage local authorities to reject planning applications, especially [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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