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

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

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 2--BROWN-KING RIFT GROWING AT A RATE: It was perhaps inevitable that after a seven-year honeymoon for the Government and the Bank of England, we would now be seeing signs of a seven-year itch. Earlier this...

University of Oregon faces possible enrollment crunch.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Greg Bolt Jul. 6--State budget cuts haven't forced the University of Oregon to turn away qualified students this year, as has happened in Washington state, but officials worry that a coming rise in the number of high school...

National Australia Bank is on prowl for top British banker.
July 6, 2004... Jul. 6--National Australia Bank (NAB) is looking to recruit a senior executive from one of its UK banking rivals to help revive the fortunes of its struggling European operations. NAB is talking to executives from at least two High Street...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 6, 2004... Jul. 6--THREAT TO BELFAST'S BASS BREWERY: Beer giant Interbrew could be taking the axe to another piece of Britain's brewing history, with plans to sell or close the Bass brewery in Belfast. The Ulster brewery was founded in 1897. Now its brew...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
July 6, 2004... Jul. 6--At the risk of harping on, we can't help but return to a subject raised in City Spy last week. On Friday, we revealed that Stuart Rose and Philip Green did not arrange to meet when they spoke on 7 May. In fact, the meeting, which...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 6--A VITAL ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE: The moment last year when French President Jacques Chirac phoned his German opposite number Chancellor Gerhard Schroder to try to get a united front against the latest...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 6--INVESTEC STILL BULLISH ABOUT PROSPECTS IN 'CHINA SHOP': A bull in a china shop is certain to cause a lot of damage and cost money. But that is not the view of broker Investec Securities in its latest mining...

Worried banks in crisis meeting with Russian oil giant.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Bernard O'Riordan Jul. 6--Russia's battered oil giant Yukos is lurching closer towards bankruptcy, with a consortium of 10 banks due to meet the company today after it defaulted on $1 billion (UKpound 550 million) in loans. ...

UK stockbroker Brewin Dolphin faces fraud claim of UKpound 30 million.
July 6, 2004... Jul. 6--Stockbroker Brewin Dolphin Securities faces UKpound 30 million of claims from one of its wealthiest former private clients relating to misuse of his funds amid accusations of fraud and falsification of records. In a dramatic...

U.K. mining firm Vedanta Resources dumps chairman over rival job offer.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 6--LONDON-listed miner Vedanta Resources has dumped chairman Brian Gilbertson over his potential new role with thet rouble-laden Russian aluminium giant Sual. The South African, in contact with Sual since the...

London brokers make August favourite for next interest-rate rise.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Angus McCrone Jul. 6--Pinstriped punters are putting their money on another interest rate rise from the Bank of England this summer, but most of them think the move will come in August rather than at the monetary policy committee's...

U.K. miner's South African wheeler-dealer pays dearly for Russian 'flirting'.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 6--Brian Gilbertson is no stranger to controversy. But yet again he finds himself at the centre of a furore over a multi-million-pound pay packet. The row has cost him his job at Indian-focused miner Vedanta...

U.K. pub trade gets grilling in overcharging probe.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 6--MPs will today be grilling the pubs industry trade associations for the first time in their probe into the relationship between the big "pubcos" and their tenants. The Trade and Industry select committee...

U.K. sports agent sees open goal looming over football star's future.
July 6, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 6--Wayne Rooney could go to Manchester United for UKpound 30 million or he may not. But it is how agent Proactive Sports manages the Everton player's future in the near term which could make or break the...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
July 7, 2004... Jul. 7--Jobs for the (not so young) boys. Another nail is driven into the coffin that is improved corporate governance with the news that Sir John Egan is to chair Severn Trent, the water and waste group. Not only is Egan almost 65 but he also...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 7--HIGH PRICE OF THE BRANSON TOUCH: If there is one recurring theme in the career of Sir Richard Branson it is that he knows how to sell. Whether unloading his music business to the Japanese, selling half...

Fares war continues to hurt UK-based airline's profits.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 7--Budget airline easyJet did little today to sooth fears in the City of the effects on it of Europe's cut-throat air fares, as it put out a trading statement saying there has been no improvement in the market since...

New BMG CD pricing system tries to gain back profits lost to piracy.
July 7, 2004... Jul. 7--BMG, the music publishing arm of media giant Bertelsmann that is home to artists including Christina Aguilera and Luther Vandross, is introducing a three-tier pricing structure for its CDs in a bid to claw back profits lost to piracy....

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 7, 2004... Jul. 7--MICROSOFT PLANS TO SLASH COSTS BY UP TO UKPOUND 820M: Software giant Microsoft is planning to cut costs by $1 billion (UKpound 820 million) annually since its expenses have grown faster than revenues for three years running, The Wall...

Leaders at UK-based railway operator to change 'incoherent' pricing system.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 7--Eurotunnel is to slash costs in its Anglo-French workforce and shake up its incoherent pricing policy, its new management pledged today. However, in a strategy document entitled Eurotunnel's Recovery Becomes...

Virgin Mobile hopes to connect with UKpound 1billion float.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 7--Virgin Mobile, Sir Richard Branson's first public float in London for 18 years, will price its shares at between 235p and 285p it announced today. That will value its equity at between UKpound 588 million...

Airport operator PlaneStation looks to make London-area airport viable.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 7--Investors have heard it all before. The old Battle of Britain airport Manston -- now renamed Kent International -- is set for take off, set to become a viable alternative "London" airport to the big three of...

China's Bank of Communications plans to list shares overseas.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 7--China's Bank of Communications, in which HSBC plans to take a stake of up to 20 percent, may list shares overseas as early as next year, an official Beijing newspaper says. HSBC says it is in talks to buy...

EU sets new rules for government bailouts of troubled companies.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Duncan Lumsden Jul. 7--Struggling firms appealing for government bailouts will have to pay up to half the cost of any rescue package, Brussels regulators will say today. The news is the latest, and perhaps the last, salvo by EU...

British supermarket Asda launches price war against competitor Tesco.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 7--Supermarkets giant Asda is launching another salvo in its price war with Tesco by pledging to slash more than UKpound 50 million from shopping bills in the coming months. The move comes as the British...

The Evening Standard, London, Steve Hawkes Column.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 7--EIGHT REASONS BRITISH MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE WILL NOT CHANGE RATES: --Housing market: The boom is far from over but there are finally signs the UK's runaway property sector may be losing some steam....

Former executive at British recruiting firm receives fine for insider trading.
July 7, 2004... Jul. 7--The former spin doctor for headhunters Whitehead Mann has been fined UKpound 15,000 by the Financial Services Authority for twice insider dealing in the company's shares. Peter Bracken, who left the group after the offences in late...

British housebuilding firm Barratt urges no change to interest rates.
July 7, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 7--Barratt Developments, Britain's biggest volume housebuilder, admitted today there are uncertainties in the UK housing market. This should provide the strongest warning yet from housebuilders for the Bank...

Fraud case could involve more officials at British stockbroker Brewin Dolphin.
July 7, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 7--Robin Bayford, finance director of stockbroker Brewin Dolphin, may be dragged into events surrounding an alleged fraud involving more than UKpound 650 million of share trades, the High Court has been told....

Summer weather, football tourney sting British bar operators.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 7--Late-night bars operator Urbium today admitted the twin temptations of balmy evenings and Euro 2004 football hit sales last month at a time when its regional bars were already hit by tough trading. The...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 7--AA SALE HAS PUT CENTRICA ON RIGHT ROAD IN THE CITY: The UKpound 1.7 billion sale of Centrica's Automobile Association (AA) subsidiary has gone down well in the City, where brokers have begun expressing their...

Evening Standard, London, Fiona Walsh column.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 7--NOW ROSE MUST DELIVER THE SPEECH OF HIS LIFE: Stuart Rose's strategy statement for M&S, due to be delivered on Monday, was always going to be the toughest speech of his career. But now the pressure is really...

Hedge-fund manager Man Group hits back over clients loss.
July 7, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 7--Shares in Man Group, the world's largest hedge fund manager, bounced back 5 percent today after a similar fall yesterday, as it reassured shareholders that recent news about losing clients and poorly performing...

Focus shifts to US investors of Marks & Spencer.
July 7, 2004... Jul. 7--San Diego-based fund manager Brandes has long held the key to Marks & Spencer's fate. Now the light will fall on other US investors who have taken up profitable positions in the High Street giant. Franklin Resources diluted its...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--MICAP CARRIES OUT TRIALS ON HOSPITAL SUPERBUG FIGHTER: Biotech Micap is trialling a new product combining "essential oils" lavender, geranium and tea tree with conventional disinfectants to combat the MRSA superbug in Britain's...

Evening Standard, London, business notes column.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--JAPANESE BANK LENDING FALLS FOR 42ND MONTH: Lending by Japanese banks continued to fall in June and the pace of money supply growth slowed, but economists said financial conditions were still improving. Bank lending was down 3.7 percent...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Jul. 8--SO, MARKS & SPENCER HAS DECIDED TO FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE: Courageous as the board's decision is, investors are entitled to question its wisdom. You can be brave and you can be foolish, both at the same time....

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 8--A RULE CHANGE CRUCIAL TO ENERGY: Arcane rule changes by the UK Listing Authority aren't normally of much interest to anyone apart from investment bankers and lawyers, and CP 203 (chapter 7) doesn't sound...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 8--CASH-STRAPPED LIFE ASSURER 'SELLING DUE TO FSA PRESSURE': There are signs that one of the big life assurers has been selling the equity market in recent weeks. Dealers say this may account for the poor...

U.K. discount retailer Matalan makes progress.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--Discount retailer and rumoured takeover target Matalan indicated its recovery was gathering pace today after another jump in underlying sales. Like-for-like growth across UK stores rose 4.1 percent in the 18 weeks to 3 July,...

SEC to add fraud charges against former Enron boss.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 8--The US Securities and Exchange Commission will today file civil fraud charges against former Enron chairman and chief executive Kenneth Lay to add to the criminal charges already laid. Lay says he will turn...

U.S. 'torture' firm gets clearance for more Iraq work.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Charlie Gibson Jul. 8--CACI International, the New York-listed firm at the centre of the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, has been cleared by Washington to continue working for the government and to bid for new jobs. The finding...

Raider tycoon faces D-day as Marks & Spencer poises to give bid verdict.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 8--The board of Marks & Spencer will today deliver its verdict on Philip Green's new UKpound 9.1 billion bid, after failing to reach a decision during a three-hour board meeting yesterday. Led by chief...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--It must rank as one of the most bizarre episodes in a takeover battle, ever. First, Business In The Community (president, the Prince of Wales) wades into the Philip Green/Marks & Spencer fight by coming out firmly in favour of M&S and...

Jailed Russian oil chief offers his shares to pay tax bill.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--The lawyer of jailed Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky has confirmed reports that he offered his shares to settle the Yukos oil company's $3.4 billion (UKpound 1.8 billion) tax bill which threatens to drive it to the wall. ...

Rates frozen but August rise looks near-cert in Britain.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 8--An August interest rate rise looks almost certain after the Bank of England today decided to leave the cost of borrowing on hold and wait before taking more heat out of the housing market. The monetary...

Various factors caused British railway firm to go off track.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 8--When Steven Norris became chairman of Jarvis last November, it was to hollow laughter from certain quarters that he told the City: "My priority will be to ensure the company regains its reputation." What...

London sports store's recovery gets up and running.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--London's flagship sports store Lillywhites has continued to make heavy losses despite a takeover by retail tycoon Mike Ashley -- the man who sponsors Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. However, it is showing signs of a turnaround under...

Inquiry begins into National Express train franchise in Britain.
July 8, 2004... Jul. 8--The Competition Commission today launched an investigation into the National Express takeover of the Greater Anglia trains franchise, on concerns over potential increased rail and coach fares into London from Essex and East Anglia. ...

Euro 2004 football kick-starts revenue for talksport owner in Britain.
July 8, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 8--Kelvin MacKenzie, chairman and chief executive of Wireless Group, told shareholders today revenue at its talkSPORT station soared 87 percent in June thanks to Euro 2004. MacKenzie said: "Football is the...

Air traffic delays get shorter as chaos in skies proves a one-off in Britain.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 9--National Air Traffic Services may have cleared the skies on one day last month after a computer crash but the part-privatised air traffic controller still managed to improve its delays record. Latest figures...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--HSBC EXPANSION BATTLE GAINING CREDIT IN JAPAN: Insiders have confirmed HSBC is in talks to buy Japanese consumer finance firm Takefuji, up for sale because its founder faces charges of bugging journalists' phones. Rumours of the...

Evening Standard, London, business notes column.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--YOOMEDIA SIGNS UP LABOUR's MCDONAGH: DIGITAL TV content provider YooMedia has recruited Labour Party general secretary Margaret McDonagh as chairman of iPublic, its public-sector division. Waheed Alli, co-founder of Bob Geldof's...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 9--CLEANING UP THE SAVINGS SCENE: No one likes to talk about it, but one of the big financial services issues is the way in which, in the run-up to de-polarisation, some of the major financial advisers are...

HSBC expansion battle gains credit in Japan.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 9--Insiders have confirmed banking giant HSBC is in talks to buy Japanese consumer finance company Takefuji, on the market because its founder is facing charges of illegally bugging journalists' phones. ...

Marks & Spencer faces shareholder revolt over billionaire snub.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Marks & Spencer is facing a shareholder revolt against its continued refusal to open talks with Philip Green, with some leading shareholders understood to be considering requisitioning an extraordinary general meeting to force the board...

Former peace negotiator gets called in to solve Yukos crisis.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Steve Stammers Jul. 9--Former Balkans peace negotiator Lord Owen has been parachuted in to advise the board of crippled oil giant Yukos in its stand-off with the Russian government. Owen is helping the company's main board in...

UK brewing company acquires 432 more pubs in UKpound 654 million deal.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 9--Pubs and brewing company Greene King today made its biggest-ever acquisition with the UKpound 654 million takeover of a large chunk of Laurel's managed pubs estate. The brewer of IPA, Abbot and Old Speckled...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Two blocks of 100,000 M&S shares were bought on the same day, one by Rose through Giltspur and another by an unknown person. Will the FSA please let us know who that was? The Financial Services Authority's clearing of Stuart Rose...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 9--CARPHONE NEAR YEAR'S LOWS AS GOLDMAN RINGS A CHANGE: Carphone Warehouse was trading just a few coppers above its year's low of 131p yesterday after heavyweight US broker Goldman Sachs told clients the shares...

Adelphia Communications' founder, son are convicted of looting company.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas, 79, and his son Timothy, 47, its former finance chief, have been convicted of looting the US cable company of hundreds of millions of dollars. They will be sentenced later and each faces up to...

UK telecom company Thus to sell call centers.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 9--Thus is quitting the call-centres business in a shake-up that will delay the telecoms group's move into the black. The Scottish Power offshoot is selling its loss-making centres to put more cash behind its...

U.K. advertising agency's last-minute float delay hits Saatchi brothers.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 9--A bumper payday for advertising gurus Maurice and Charles Saatchi has been postponed after the float of their latest agency was pulled at the last minute. The M&C Saatchi issue was due to be priced last night...

UBS wins bid war for U.K. telecommunications firm's former building.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 9--UBS has won the hard-fought UKpound 55 million auction to buy the white, Lego-like Mondial House building next to Cannon Street station. The 1970s building, which was once described by Prince Charles as...

Shareholders in U.S. internet investor Amerindo win right to pull out cash.
July 9, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 9--One of the last surviving dot com funds was on the verge of being broken up today as rebel shareholders voted through a plan to bust open the trust. US hedge fund Millennium Partners, a 29.9 percent...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 9--Hopes of a bid for perennial takeover candidate TBI have been revived after a reshuffle among some of its biggest shareholders. It has emerged French construction firm Vinci was yesterday's seller of 22...

Marks & Spencer CEO must silence dissenting voices despite agency clearance.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Stuart Rose will have little time to celebrate FSA clearance over his controversial purchase of 100,000 shares in M&S ahead of Green's takeover assault. He must give the performance of his life on Monday, producing a recovery...

U.K. sports-apparel retailer still suffers despite Euro 2004 'bonanza'.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Euro 2004 provided the replica kits "bonanza" for JJB Sports promised by chief executive Tom Knight, but sales of other clothing deteriorated dramatically. In an April profit warning, Knight said the year had started badly for...

DuPont may get hit with huge health fine.
July 9, 2004... Jul. 9--Chemicals giant DuPont could face a fine of millions of dollars for allegedly covering up evidence of health risks from a key ingredient in Teflon for more than 20 years. The Environmental Protection Agency could fine DuPont $300...

US prisons answer demand for call centres.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Charlie Gibson Jul. 12--Third-World call centres, which have lured thousands of jobs from developed countries, are facing an unexpected challenge from the US as the private sector seeks to capitalise on the country's dubious...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 12--A ROSE-TINTED VISION FOR M&S: Before Stuart Rose stood up today to present his reasons why shareholders should back his vision of Marks & Spencer against Philip Green's 400p-a-share bid, the debate about...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 12, 2004... Jul. 12--UKpound 1.5BN GOOGLE FLOAT IS TIPPED FOR THIS MONTH: Internet search engine firm Google is reportedly aiming to complete its eagerly awaited flotation as soon as this month. Google's float, expected to raise about $2.7 billion (UKpound...

Evening Standard, London, Business Insider column.
July 12, 2004... Jul. 12--Just how good is Stuart Rose? It's the question on the lips of Marks & Spencer shareholders today as they hear the new chief's turnaround plan for the embattled stores group. What they may not realise is that Rose comes as a...

Enron finance chief's wife sent to tough jail.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 12--Convicted tax cheat Lea Fastow, the wife of former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow, today swaps her UKpound 400,000 luxury home for a shared prison cell in Houston Texas. Fastow is to serve a year for...

French football player's firm buys online retailer of England sports gear.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 12--Having jumped into bed with Manchester United last week, it would appear Arsenal's French star Patrick Vieira is also interested in how the England football team is doing. Listed SP Holdings, the sports...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 12--EXCHANGE SET TO FACE FLAK OVER ITS LACK OF STRATEGY: The London Stock Exchange is no longer the force it once was in the Square Mile. Gone are the days when it was responsible for conducting an orderly...

British convenience store chain looks to modernise amid slumping sales.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 12--Big Food Group is stepping up its drive to convert Iceland into a convenience stores chain after suffering a worrying sales setback in the fierce supermarkets price war. Like-for-like sales across the...

London shows signs of slower economic growth.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 12--Fresh signs the Bank of England was right to leave interest rates unchanged this month came today as a new report showed the gloss may already be coming off London's economic revival. Fears of a dramatic...

Marks & Spencer CEO tables plan to revitalize British retailing giant.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 12--Stuart Rose today unveiled his eagerly awaited vision to revitalise Britain's biggest clothing retailer, with a UKpound 2.3 billion handout to shareholders and the promise that he will "give Marks & Spencer...

Sainsbury family backs British supermarket board in executive pay dispute.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Steve Hawkes Jul. 12--Embattled supermarkets giant J Sainsbury looked set to survive an embarrassing shareholder rebellion today after a last-minute intervention by the founding family. The Sainsbury family was believed to be...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 13, 2004... Jul. 13--WOLSELEY TURNS UP THE TAP ON SALES AND PROFITS: An upbeat trading statement from heating and plumbing products supplier Wolseley will have analysts upgrading their full-year profit forecasts. The company said sales were up more than 20...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 13, 2004... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 13--NOW M&S MUST OPEN THE BOOKS: There was an air of confidence almost to the point of cockiness in Stuart Rose's box at Lord's on Saturday as he and his advisers contemplated the message he finally delivered to...

Japanese-owned bank begins defense in gender-bias claim.
July 13, 2004... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 13--Japanese-owned bank Nomura International is back in the dock today to fend off a sex discrimination and victimisation claim from one of its former high-flying female bankers. The three-day Employment...

British Internet bank Egg closes French arm.
July 13, 2004... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 13--Egg today pulled the plug on its ill-fated French operation, leaving it with total losses of UKpound 280 million in just over two years. The move was forced on Egg by 79 percent shareholder Prudential,...