News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

JJB Sports wins over investors

October 28, 2009

Embattled sportswear retailer JJB Sports yesterday confirmed it has received shareholder support for 90 per cent of the shares it intends to issue in its £100m cash call. Shareholders will vote today to approve the rights issue.
NatEx rejects Stagecoach merger plans

October 28, 2009

NATIONAL Express last night ruled out a merger with Stagecoach and said that it was pressing ahead with a fundraising. The transport group said that its board and advisers had decided a merger would not offer greater value and certainty to shareholders. National Express said last week that Stagecoach had made a “highly preliminary” approach, [...]
Yell set to take 3.8bn debt restructure to court

October 28, 2009

TROUBLED directories publisher Yell will today say that it is prepared to ask the courts to push through the restructuring of its £3.8bn debt mountain, after it failed to secure agreement from enough of its lenders. Yell had until 5pm last night to get the required 95 per cent support from its 300 lenders for [...]
Bodog circles government sale of theTote

October 28, 2009

A POTENTIAL buyer has emerged for the Tote, just weeks after the government put the bookmaker on the block as part of plans to sell off £16bn worth of state assets to reduce the burgeoning pile of public debt. Bodog Europe – a franchise of US betting giant Bodog – is understood to be mulling [...]
Ford picks Geely as Volvo frontrunner

October 27, 2009

FORD named Zhejiang Geely Holding Group as preferred bidder for its loss-making Swedish unit Volvo in what could lead to the biggest overseas acquisition by China’s fast-growing auto sector. Ford and privately owned Geely did not disclose a possible sale price for Volvo but it is thought to be closer to $2bn (£1.3bn) than the [...]
European lending takes a hit

October 27, 2009

LOANS to Eurozone households and businesses fell for the first time ever in September, amplifying concerns that weak bank lending could hinder the Eurozone’s still fragile recovery. Official data from Eurostat showed that loans to the private sector fell 0.3 per cent on September 2008 – the first time this measure has dropped into negative [...]
Personal insolvency levels to break records in 2009

October 27, 2009

PERSONAL insolvencies will jump to the highest figure on record today, according to new figures from insolvency specialist Tenon Recovery. On average there have been 300 personal insolvencies every day in 2009 – with an estimated 107,014 personal insolvencies so far this year. Tenon Recovery’s national head of bankruptcy Mark Sands is predicting that the [...]
Honda profits driven up by scrap scheme

October 27, 2009

CAR giant Honda tripled its annual profit forecasts yesterday, as second-quarter earnings fell less than forecast on the back of scrappage schemes worldwide. Honda has weathered the industrial turmoil, which drove two US car giants into bankruptcy last year, better than its competitors as its profitable motorbike business cushioned the blow. The carmaker said yesterday [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS

October 27, 2009

MCBRIDEHaving started the year with conservative margin assumptions for McBride, Investec has upgraded these in light of its strong start to full-year 2010. The broker said that the top line performance is broadly as expected, but that a better mix is driving profits ahead. Investec therefore lifted earnings per share estimates in the region of [...]
Further tube strikes threatened

October 27, 2009

Tube drivers on the Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines will be balloted for strike action, it emerged yesterday, in a dispute over new timetables. Union bosses are meeting today to approve a ballot for the 250 drivers at Neasden depot, which serves the two lines. The threat brings yet more bad news for commuters, [...]