The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from August 2004

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from August 2004

EDITORIAL: Profits are the lifeblood of progress.
August 8, 2004... Aug. 8--From free-market America to state-capitalist China, it would have been cause for celebration. But in Britain and several other European countries, a crop of bumper profits from top companies last week was met by consternation,...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--DMG RADIO ON RIGHT WAVELENGTH IN OZ: British firm DMG Radio looks set to win the last Australian FM radio licence to be auctioned for the next five years. The auction for a licence in Melbourne, to be held on Thursday, is expected to...

British Airways beats profit forecasts, plans fuel surcharge on ticket prices.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Aug. 9--British Airways today beat analysts' profit forecasts and confirmed plans for an additional fuel surcharge on ticket prices in the hope of knocking UKpound 70 million off its bills. Chief executive Rod...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--PITY the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Its attempts to offer a sober analysis of the costs and benefits of our membership of the European Union has backfired. Civitas, a right-wing think-tank, is trading blows with...

Key revenue 'slowdown' is new blow for Google.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 9--Google's float hopes were dented further today as a study forecast slower growth in the online search giant's key revenue earner, paid-for listings. Although such spending will double to $5.5 billion...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Aug. 9--MORRISON REACHES SELL-BY DATE AS SAFEWAY TAKES TOLL: WM Morrison, which recently acquired rival Safeway, dipped 4 1/4p to an 18-month low of 173 1/2p as one big seller jettisoned stock. Broker ABN Amro...

Shares fall for UK online travel agency Lastminute.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 9--Shares in Lastminute took yet another hit today despite the online travel agency's best efforts to arrest the current slide by issuing a set of bullish financial targets for the next 18 months. In a...

UK telecom parts maker Marconi posts UKpound 3 million in first-quarter losses.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 9--Telecoms parts maker Marconi lifted its profit margin target for the year today as it posted much smaller losses and forecast a sales rebound over coming months, writes. Chief executive Mike Parton said the...

British magazine group buys global ad awards event for UKpound 52.5 million.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--Magazines giant Emap today splashed out UKpound 52.5 million for the global advertising industry's biggest awards event, writes Jim Armitage. It is buying the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival from 71-year-old Roger...

Another rival's takeover advances welcomed by struggling Japanese bank.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 9--Debt-laden Japanese bank UFJ today said it would cautiously consider a merger proposal from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial but still planned to integrate with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial, writes Bill Condie. "We...

Oil more expensive, but still below historical highs, say analysts.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--Oil prices in 2003 were the highest in nominal terms for 20 years, with dated Brent averaging $28.83 a barrel (35 gallons), says BP. But, even with crude now above $40, it is "cheap as chips" against $138 for a barrel of Safeway...

Technology breakthroughs should continue to boost oil extraction.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--Advances in technology will continue to enable firms to squeeze more oil out of existing fields, open up new frontiers and process fossil fuels more efficiently, cheaply and cleanly. Brazil's Petrobras brought its first offshore...

Owner of British pub chain plans public stock offering.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Sarah Marks Aug. 9--David Bruce, founder of the Firkin chain of pubs, is bringing a company to the stock market for the first time in his long career as a serial pub entrepreneur. At a time when most of the established pub...

CEO of British technology services firm expects windfall from HP takeover.
August 9, 2004... Aug. 9--Steve Vaughan, the 43-year-old chief executive of IT services firm Synstar, stands to make UKpound 700,000 profit on his share options after the board recommended shareholders accept a UKpound 162.9 million cash bid from America's...

British antiques and art dealer mulls sale of its historic Bourdon House.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--Antiques and art dealer Mallett is hoping to cash in on its Bourdon House property in Mayfair in a move that could spark a multi-million-pound windfall for shareholders. These include predatory investor Jack Petchey, who has built a 28...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--BRAMBLES SEES CLEANAWAY HQ GO DOWN THE DRAIN: Brambles is closing the Docklands HQ of its Cleanaway waste business with the loss of about 20 jobs, at a cost believed to be UKpound 2 million. Cleanaway has deals with Croydon, Tower...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--It has long been supposed that BAE Systems' fate lies across the Atlantic, that at some stage the firm will fall into the hands of one of the American giants of the defence industry. But could its future lie closer to home? ...

Cairn Energy soars after fourth major oil strike of year.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 10--Cairn Energy has made its fourth major oil discovery this year in the Indian desert, writes Steve Hawkes. The soaraway oil explorer today said a well on the boundaries of its vast licence area in...

Canada's Caspian Energy joins rush for listing in London.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 10--A Canadian company with a stake in an onshore oil project in Kazakhstan is to become the latest in a long line of explorers floating on the London market, writes Steve Hawkes. Caspian Energy will begin a...

Ailing Delta Airlines woos back finance chief with free flights.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 10--American airline Delta is to give its former finance chief Michele Burns free air travel for life in exchange for consultancy services for five years, writes Bill Condie. However, the airline is also...

HSBC on the shortlist to buy finance arm of UFJ.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 10--Global banking giant HSBC, reportedly already in negotiations to take over Japan's consumer finance firm Takefuji Corp, has been shortlisted to snap up beleaguered bank UFJ's consumer finance unit Aplus, writes...

U.S. entrepreneur puts $700 million on line for British sports team.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--American entrepreneur Malcolm Glazer has put $700 million (UKpound 380 million) of property on the market to help fund a possible tilt at Manchester United. Glazer's representatives are ready to meet the club's largest...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Aug. 10--BARCLAYS HAS LAST LAUGH AS CITIGROUP DERIDES BID TALK: Talk of a bid for Barclays got the biggest laugh of the day down at Citigroup's Canary Wharf headquarters today. Executive vice-president and chief...

Marks & Spencer chairman to remain until mid-2005.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--Veteran fund manager Paul Myners is to stay on as chairman of Marks & Spencer until next summer as the search continues for a permanent head for the High Street retailer. Alongside new chief executive Stuart Rose, Myners played a...

Oil price soars as Iraq shuts down key terminal.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Aug. 10--Oil prices struck fresh highs today after a stoppage of Iraqi crude production heightened fears that tightly stretched global supply would be inadequate at times of disruption, writes Jane Padgham. US...

Washington-based Riggs National Corp. puts chief risk officer on leave.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Charlie Gibson Aug. 10--US "diplomat's bank" Riggs, in the dock for allegedly allowing money-laundering and shady deals with Saudi envoys, has placed chief risk officer Ashley Lee on administrative leave. The Washington-based...

Savings gap is closing among Londoners.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Aug. 10--Sky-high property prices are redrawing the map of Londoners' savings habits, new research shows. With many young professionals forced into the capital's traditionally poorer areas to buy a home, savings...

South Africa's biggest insurer stands by plan for major British acquisition.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--Old Mutual, South Africa's biggest insurer, is sticking by plans to spend UKpound 1 billion on a major UK acquisition despite missing out on the recent sale of Royal & SunAlliance's life business, writes Steve Hawkes. Finance...

Britain's trade gap sets record.
August 10, 2004... Aug. 10--Britain's trade gap with the rest of the world has ballooned to its widest for more than 300 years as the consumer boom sucks in a record value of overseas goods. The deficit blew out to UKpound 10.8 billion in the April-June...

Trump fires himself in UKpound 980 million casino debt deal.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 10--Flamboyant property developer Donald Trump has agreed to fire himself as chief executive of his gambling empire and cut his controlling stake to 25 percent in a deal with creditors that will put the company...

Investment giant UBS smashes targets but warns of tough times ahead.
August 10, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 10--Investment banking giant UBS delivered a stark message to the City today, saying that overall trading conditions would be subdued for the rest of the year despite delivering forecast-busting second-quarter...

End is nigh as two British vinyl music firms bite the dust.
August 10, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Aug. 10--Two of Britain's last remaining vinyl records businesses have collapsed into receivership, the latest victims of the fad for downloading tunes from the Internet, writes Jim Armitage. London-based Vinyl...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--GOLDMAN IS POISED TO GET CHINESE BROKERAGE LICENCE Investment bank Goldman Sachs is set to clear a major hurdle in its bid to start underwriting stock and bond sales in China, according to Bloomberg. The Beijing-based China...

Head of U.K. construction giant Balfour Beatty steps down on high note.
August 11, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 11--Mike Welton is stepping down as chief executive of construction giant Balfour Beatty after nine years at the top, writes. His replacement will be Balfour's chief operating officer Ian Tyler who can...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--VITTORIO Radice has gone but his spirit lives on -- well, in part, anyway. The new autumn and winter catalogue for Marks & Spencer's home furnishings division still contains the Master's trademark headings such as Renew, Rest and Play....

Court ruling could make divorce more expensive for British executives.
August 11, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 11--Divorce costs for the City's executive elite may spiral if a crucial court judgment rules that company share options and performance bonuses be worked into settlements. The Court of Appeal decision could...

UK-based Furniture Group Homestyle hopes beds sale will ease pressure.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--Struggling furniture group Homestyle has put its Bensons Beds business up for sale in a move that could raise more than UKpound 130 million for the cash-strapped company. News of the proposed disposal came as the group revealed it...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--Lord Harris of Peckham is someone even Del Boy Trotter can look up to. As plain old Phil, he built up Harris Queensway, which he sold on, before returning to the Square Mile with Carpetright and has repeated his initial success as...

Fears grow over News Corp plan to move headquarters from Australia to Delaware.
August 11, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 11--Rupert Murdoch's News Corp today outlined the details of its plan to move headquarters from Australia to Delaware in the United States, with the full board unanimously approving the relocation. But the...

Energy agency calls for calm on oil markets, warns of 'economic damage'.
August 11, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 11--One of the most influential energy organisations in the world has made an unprecedented call for calm in global oil markets, warning that current record crude prices are higher than they should be and causing...

Japanese Bank set to seal pact for merger.
August 11, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 11--Despite leaving the way open for a rival bid from Sumitomo, ailing Japanese bank UFJ may sign the agreement for a rescue plan by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group as early as this week, according to reports in...

Cisco to keep CEO's pay at $350,000.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--Network equipment market leader, Cisco, has sent mixed messages to the market with the news that chief executive John Chambers will this year once again draw his regular salary of $350,000 (UKpound 195,000) despite rising stocks and...

Oilfield returns to operation as Mauritania foils coup.
August 11, 2004... Aug. 11--Work is slowly returning to normal at BG Group's Mauritanian oilfield after the government of the West African Islamic republic fended off an attempted coup. BG's Australian partner Woodside said today that staff were returning to...

London's economy improved in July.
August 12, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Aug. 12--London's economy stepped up a gear last month, signalling that the capital is beginning to take recent interest rate rises in its stride. After several months of slowing growth, new-found confidence led to...

Canada's Caspian Energy prepares to float shares on London market.
August 13, 2004... Aug. 13--A Canadian company with a stake in an onshore oil project in Kazakhstan is to become the latest in a long line of explorers floating on the London market. Caspian Energy will begin a roadshow with institutions next week and hopes...

Fears over unrest in Venezuela push oil toward $50.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--The prospect of $50-a-barrel oil grew today as the cost of US crude raced to yet another all-time high on fears that political unrest in Venezuela will hit the country's exports, writes Steve Hawkes. As Venezuelans continued to...

Auditors blast U.K. agency in row over liability cap.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--A leading accountancy body has savaged the Office of Fair Trading report on auditor liability and called on the watchdog to "withdraw or correct" its inaccuracies. Eric Anstee, chief executive of the Institute of Chartered...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--Kellogg's is upset some people feel it makes fat profits by making our children fat (as if). At a lengthy presentation introducing reduced-sugar Frosties and telling us how its advertising will be more responsible and how it will place...

Ousted chief of U.K. business-services provider Rentokil plans comeback.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 16--Former Rentokil chairman Sir Clive Thompson is planning to return to the City within two months in a pledge that will fuel more speculation about a knockout bid for his former business. Thompson told the...

UK's Coffee Republic cuts losses after revamp.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--Coffee Republic, almost killed off in Britain's coffee bar wars, today reported a like-for-like sales increase for the first time in three years, writes Jim Armitage. The business, having sold off dozens of bars since 2002, is a...

Online travel agent ebookers' picture brightens after profits shock.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Aug. 16--Online travel agent ebookers today moved to reassure investors that current trading was "encouraging" after its shock profit warning last month. The group's shares crashed more than a third at the end of...

U.K. financial firm Prudential's talks to take over Korean firm collapse.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--Talks by Prudential to buy South Korea's top asset manager have broken down, with the government turning to an alternative bidder. The British financial services giant is leader of a consortium that includes billionaire George...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Aug. 16--CAZ AND THE CHANGING CITY: As we move into the latter stages of summer, the event of the last few months that most illustrates the changing seasons of the City was the decision by Cazenove to slash by 30...

Big hospital site in London's West End gets put up for sale.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--One of the largest-ever West End development sites has been put on the market. University College London Hospitals NHS Trust has told agents to begin talks with leading London developers on the disposal of its Middlesex Hospital...

Heat is on for Britons who want home in sun.
August 16, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 16--As if rising mortgage repayments and the early signs of a downturn in the UK housing market were not enough for homeowners to fret about, that other favourite real estate market for Brits -- the Costa del...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Aug. 16--CITY POURS COLD WATER ON TALK OF FRENCH BID FOR SHELL: City traders were doing their level best to play down talk of a UKpound 40 billion-plus bid for oil giant Shell, up 4 1/2p at 395p, from its smaller...

Saudi Arabia tries to calm markets as oil moves toward $50 per barrel.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 16--Saudi Arabia made a fresh attempt to cool global oil markets today as US crude raced to another all-time high on fears of a supply squeeze. Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz insisted the kingdom wanted...

U.K. small firms stay upbeat despite oil, interest-rate burdens.
August 16, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 16--Rising interest rates and soaring oil prices are putting a squeeze on profits among Britain's small businesses. Costs have risen for the 18th quarter in succession but small and medium-sized businesses...

U.K. stadium is 'on time' despite steel-contract confusion, builder says.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 16--Construction group Multiplex said today it still expects to complete the UKpound 750 million Wembley National Stadium on time even though it has not finalised terms with new contractor Hollandia. Multiplex...

U.K. recruitment consultancy lifts dividend after first-half profit rise.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 16--Recruitment consultancy Michael Page is upping its dividend for the first time since listing on the stock market three years ago after a profits surge in the first half. Investors will pick up an interim...

Vodafone calls in Former NTT chief to aid Japan results.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--Mobile phone giant Vodafone is handing responsibility for turning around its struggling Japanese business to former NTT DoCoMo executive Shiro Tsuda. Tsuda has been named president and chief executive of Vodafone Japan. He will...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 16, 2004... Aug. 16--ALLIANZ LOSES GROUND BUT GETS DRESDNER INTO SHAPE: German insurance giant Allianz's second-quarter net income fell 7 percent to euro614 million (UKpound 411 million) but its Dresdner Bank unit is expected to be profitable this year....

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 17, 2004... Aug. 17--STANLEY BOSS ON A WINNING STREAK: Stanley Leisure, the gambling company hit by a winning streak from high rollers at its London casinos last year, upped its pay in the boardroom by UKpound 259,000. Chief executive Bob Wiper was paid a...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Aug. 17--GULF THAT COST CITIGROUP DEAR: People used to think the major risk to a worldwide financial organisation was that of the rogue trader who broke all the rules, incurred huge losses and bust the bank -- Nick...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
August 17, 2004... Aug. 17--Could Britain's poshest corner shop be about to go under the hammer? Word reaches City Spy that Fortnoum & Mason, the Queen's favourite grocer, may be up for sale. Founded 300 years ago, Fortnums has spent the past 50-or-so years in...

Bush backs Boeing as row looms on Airbus subsidies.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 17--The US and Europe are heading for a major row over airline manufacturing subsidies with the Bush administration telling the European Union it wants to scrap a 12-year-old agreement that lets EU members...

British Airways' woes keep shares off investors' buying list.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Aug. 17--Shares in British Airways may have dived in recent weeks amid concerns about strikes and fuel prices, but few analysts think investors should be buying them yet. Since hovering near 280 pence at the start...

Cantor Fitzgerald does splits, hives off telephone-based brokerage unit.
August 17, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 17--Cantor Fitzgerald is spinning off its traditional telephone-based brokerage business in a deal that should spark a fresh round of City poaching in the high-octane world of wholesale money-broking. The...

Developer's UKpound 1.1 billion price tag is too high, London analysts warn.
August 17, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Aug. 17--Minerva, the up-for-sale property developer behind plans to build the Square Mile's largest tower block, will struggle to get close to the expected UKpound 1.1 billion asking price, City analysts said today....

U.K. generator maker Turbo Genset wins key U.S. order.
August 17, 2004... Aug. 17--Generator maker Turbo Genset has landed its first order, worth $750,000 (UKpound 407,000), for energy-saving turbines that use rubbish-dump methane to produce electricity. The purchase, by an American landfill site operator, could...

Google to press on with float despite share probe.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Aug. 17--Internet search engine Google is set to push ahead with its troubled flotation tomorrow despite an admission that the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, is probing the past award of Google...

U.K. insurer Prudential's vow on endowments turns screw on rival Aviva.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 17--Insurance giant Prudential has vowed not to go back on its word and put time limits on customers wanting to complain about mis-sold endowments. The move will heap more pressure on its fierce rival, Norwich...

Executive's exit has Krispy Kreme in fresh jam.
August 17, 2004... Aug. 17--Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, already reeling from an accounting probe and the inroads the low-carb diet craze has made into its profits, has suffered a further blow with the resignation of its chief operating officer. John Tate is...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Aug. 17--Investor confidence remains at a low ebb despite the efforts of stock market bulls to talk share prices higher. The latest investor confidence survey by US investment bank JP Morgan makes gloomy reading,...

Chinese demand lifts mining giant BHP's profits to UKpound 1.8 billion.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Bil Condie Aug. 17--Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton today posted net profits for the year to 30 June of $3.4 billion (UKpound 1.86 billion), against $1.9 billion the previous year, and said the buoyant Chinese economy...

London financial district bets against oil at $50 in next month.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Angus McCrone Aug. 17--City punters believe there is only a one-in-five chance oil prices will break the $50 a barrel mark within the next month despite the series of records set on both sides of the Atlantic since the start of...

U.K. financial-services agency clears stockbroker Collins Stewart of share fix.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Aug. 17--Stockbroker Collins Stewart was today sensationally cleared by the Financial Services Authority of any wrongdoing alleged in the James Middleweek scandal that has dogged the company for the past year. ...

Hurricane Charley may clobber insurers for UKpound 7.6 billion.
August 17, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 17--Hurricane Charley is expected to leave the insurance industry with its second-biggest storm bill ever as underwriters brace themselves for a claims deluge over the coming weeks. Munich Re, the world's...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
August 18, 2004... Aug. 18--The good burghers of Blackheath Village -- the self-styled Hampstead of south-east London -- have triumphed in their three-year battle against the mighty Starbucks coffee shops corporation. Its branch in Blackheath's Tranquil Vale...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
August 18, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Aug. 18--One of the uncomfortable truths of the insurance industry is that it likes a good disaster. It reminds people why they need insurance and it gives the companies an excuse to put up their prices. So Hurricane...

U.K. insurer Hiscox signals slowdown in sector.
August 18, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Aug. 18--One of the biggest insurers at Lloyd's of London is slashing its underwriting capacity next year in a sign the market is preparing for a fall in premiums. Hiscox today said it was cutting back capacity at...

Bank of England panel's view suggests interest rates are near peak.
August 18, 2004... Byline: Jane Padgham Aug. 18--Speculation that interest rates are close to peaking was bolstered today by comments from the Bank of England's monetary policy committee. Minutes of the MPC's latest meeting revealed that the nine-strong...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
August 18, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Aug. 18--PUNTERS MAY BE CAUGHT OUT BY RENTOKIL CHANGE OF PLAN: City speculators may find themselves caught like rats in traps if things do not go according to plan at services group Rentokil Initial. The shares...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
August 18, 2004... Aug. 18--NESTLE BLAMES WEATHER AS ICE-CREAM MARKET COOLS: Swiss consumer foods giant Nestle today blamed bad weather and tough trading conditions across Western Europe as it hit investors with slower-than-expected sales figures. A month...