News

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

ENI pulls out of takeover talks with rival Tullow

September 21, 2009

ENERGY group Tullow Oil saw its share price close 1.8 per cent down at 1,158p yesterday, after the Italian state oil group ENI decided against an offer for the group. ENI is said to think that a bid would be too expensive after completing due diligence and pricing its African assets. Tullow’s share price was [...]
Anglo Irish is hit by fresh loans scandal

September 21, 2009

EIGHT senior managers at the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank owed the bank a total of €21.9m (£20m) in personal loans as of the end of September last year. The group of senior figures, who are still with the bank, owed loans ranging from €835,000 to €7.1m, according to leaked internal documents. Just one – outgoing [...]
60m hotel to be built in Soho

September 21, 2009

Luxury hotel operator Firmdale sped up the pace of Soho’s redevelopment yesterday, announcing a deal to build a luxury £60m property on the site of Ham yard, a former World War Two bomb site. Firmdale co-founders Tim and Kit Kemp already run six London hotels, including the Soho Hotel in Richmond Mews.
BA looks to Spain for winter sun

September 21, 2009

British Airways (BA) could operate tourist flights from London City airport next year to capitalise on its new range of regional aircraft. Destinations served using five E-190 jets on order from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer could stretch to the Spanish holiday islands of Majorca and Ibiza.
Lapdancing clubs face closure

September 21, 2009

Lapdancing clubs could be forced to close as a result of tighter rules governing operators like Spearmint Rhino, the industry’s trade body has said. The warning came after a Home Office consultation document was published, proposing that all lapdancing venues must apply for “sex establishment” licences.
Rio to slash Alcan spending

September 21, 2009

Mining giant Rio Tinto is planning to slash its capital spending at its Alcan aluminium arm by 15 per cent, the group said yesterday. It will cut the arm’s annual spending on company operations to $500m (£243m) next year, down from the $586m it plans to spend this year.
Primark to beat retail gloom

September 21, 2009

Primark is set to become a major European force as retailers offering low-cost goods thrive in the recession, according to research out today by Verdict analysts. Verdict predicts the European retail sector will shrink by 5.2 per cent to in 2009, but that value retailers will outperform the market.
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs

September 21, 2009

Matrix Corporate CapitalThe broking and corporate advisory firm has appointed Oliver Hoare as head of pan-European large cap equity sales. Hoare, who will begin with full coverage of the UK market and then roll out his team’s service to continental Europe, brings over 20 years of experience to the role. He was most recently at [...]
RBS IN SHARE ISSUE PLAN TO RAISE 4BN

September 20, 2009

ROYAL Bank of Scotland is considering a share issue of £3bn-£4bn to reduce the government’s stake in the bank. The move would be a last-ditch bid to avoid seeing the government’s stake rise above 70 per cent following participation in the Asset Protection Scheme (APS). It would also see RBS joining Lloyds in the scramble [...]
USand EU closer to bonus deal

September 20, 2009

A RADICAL plan by the Federal Reserve to regulate USbank bonuses has made a deal at this week’s G20 summit much more likely, analysts said last night. The US shift has significantly reduced the gap with the EU’s position, but other nations and national parliaments would still have to endorse any agreement. The Fed now [...]