The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from July 2005

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from July 2005

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 4--UNHEALTHY LIGHT ON THE CITY RICH: Publication at the weekend of The Sunday Times City Rich List does the Square Mile few favours. What emerges powerfully is that most have made their money either in...

Manchester United look to score with Asian fans.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 4--Manchester United, under fire from dismayed fans at home who object to the takeover by U.S. tycoon Malcolm Glazer, is working hard to woo another group of supporters on the other side of the world, as marketing...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 4, 2005... Jul. 4--HIH CREDITORS FACE A WAIT FOR THEIR CASH: Creditors of collapsed Australian insurance giant HIH may have to wait for their money, as lawyers try to hammer out a system to transfer A$2 billion ([pounds sterling]840 million). Liquidator...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 4, 2005... Jul. 4--SO, THERE'S KEN LIVINGSTONE AND TRANSPORT FOR LONDON wanting to extend the C-charge zone. But first they promise to undertake a consultation exercise to find out what the public really thinks. This involves cold-calling residents in...

Baugur's Somerfield bid 'in the balance'.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 4--Shares in supermarkets group Somerfield were set to dip this morning on fears that Baugur may withdraw from a consortium preparing a [pounds sterling]1.12 billion takeover bid following fraud charges made...

Weakness at Wickes hits Travis Perkins' prospects.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 4--The British consumer has pulled the plug on new bathrooms and kitchens, as DIY retailer Wickes -- bought by builders' merchant Travis Perkins in a [pounds sterling]950 million deal in February -- admitted sales...

'Intimidating process deterring split-cap claims'.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 4--Only a third of the 50,000 individual investors left out of the pocket in the [pounds sterling]144 million split-capital investment trusts scandal have put in compensation claims because the process is too...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Tom Nicholls Jul. 4--CONSTRUCTION TRIO HOPE TO STRIKE GOLD WITH OLYMPICS: Investors in builder Bellway, builders' merchant Travis Perkins and planner and designer WS Atkins will be among those hoping last-ditch efforts by British...

Branson boosts rescue fund for holidaymakers.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 4--Sir Richard Branson has thrown his weight behind calls for a new [pounds sterling]300 million fund to rescue stranded travellers. The Civil Aviation Act before Parliament this week mentions the new fund but...

Brazilian beauty linked to VW bribery scandal.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Allan Hall Jul. 4--The bribery scandal at Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen (VW) is widening to take in a beautiful Brazilian woman linked to the union boss who quit his job last week. Investigators are now reportedly...

Evening Standard, London, Chris Blackhurst column.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Chris Blackhurst Jul. 18--Whatever gloss Stuart Rose tries to put on Charles Wilson's departure, there's no doubting it's a shock and hardly a vote in confidence in him or Marks & Spencer. To suggest Wilson was going to go at...

Stanley bets [pounds sterling]100m on casinos revamp.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 18--Fresh from the sale of its 620 betting shops to William Hill, Stanley Leisure today unveiled a [pounds sterling]100 million-plus plan to cement its position as Britain's biggest casino operator. Stanley...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 18, 2005... Jul. 18--Transport analysts have been preoccupied for some months with Where's Willie? -- their own version of the children's puzzle Where's Wally?. There has been neither sight nor sound of Willie Walsh since the former Aer Lingus boss was...

Blow to M&S recovery hope after Rose's key man quits.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 18--Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose today insisted the shock departure of his right-hand man, Charles Wilson, will not derail his recovery strategy for the struggling clothing retailer. "Am I...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 18--Mervyn king, the Governor of the Bank of England, has been trying to slow down the rate of growth in the British economy for the better part of two years, since he began to raise interest rates. The...

Going is tough in UK for Wolseley.
July 18, 2005... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 18--The stalling housing market has put the brakes on British growth at Wolseley, the world's largest supplier of heating and plumbing services. The company outperformed the UK market overall for building...

Payouts up as splits victims fail to show.
July 18, 2005... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 18--Thousands of savers owed compensation from the collapse of split-capital investment trusts were in line for better-than-expected payouts as this afternoon's deadline loomed for filing claims. About...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 18--Fashion icon Burberry shaded 1/2p to 430 1/2p today as some City chav went and sold almost [pounds sterling]11 million of its shares in the market-place. Word is broker Merrill Lynch has placed 2.5 million...

Bets by mobile make TV Commerce a winner.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 18--An Aim-listed technology company today saw its shares rocket by almost 50 percent after it launched a service in conjunction with Sky TV allowing punters to gamble over their mobile phones. TV Commerce's...

Moscow levels charges at Yukos boss in London.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 18--Russian prosecutors have summoned Yukos vice president Yury Beilin to Moscow from his home in London to answer charges of illegal oil extraction as President Vladimir Putin continues to squeeze the resources...

Imperial on climb after reserves get [pounds sterling]235m tag.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 18--Shares in independent oil explorer Imperial Energy were gushing today after the AIM-quoted Siberian driller said investigations found it has expected recoverable reserves of 157 million barrels, giving it assets...

Stalin's steel giant lines up [pounds sterling]2bn float to cut bosses' debt.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Ross Tieman Jul. 18--Joe Stalin must be turning in his grave. MMK, the steel company of Magnitogorsk, the city built by a quarter of a million dispossessed peasants, criminals and volunteer workers under the communist leader's...

IG trading record after bomb blasts.
July 18, 2005... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 18--Spread-betting giant IG Group saw its busiest trading session on the day of the London bomb attacks. As the 7/7 tube and bus blasts caused a massive plunge and then rebound in London share prices,...

'Politicians snared' as Volkswagen sex scandal escalates.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Allan Hall Jul. 18--The bribery scandal engulfing Volkswagen escalated today with claims that senior politicians from Gerhard Schr"der's ruling SPD party attended sex parties at one of Berlin's top hotels. VW personnel...

Hurricane threat curbs oil output.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 18--Shell has shut down some of its natural gas and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico as the region braces for another damaging hurricane. Production of 20 million cubic feet of gas and 1000 barrels of oil...

French toll road stakes sale plan.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Ross Tieman Jul. 18--Controlling stakes in three of Europe's top toll-road companies are likely to be up for grabs soon. The French government is expected to announce this week that it will auction the stakes and is looking to...

SABMiller wins [pounds sterling]4.6 billion Latin America bid race.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 19--Global brewing giant SABMiller today won the hard-fought auction for Latin America's second-biggest brewer, Bavaria, in an $8 billion ([pounds sterling]4.6 billion) deal. The takeover, one of the biggest...

Eurostar wins as air fares rise.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 19--Air fares pushed up by fuel surcharges are making the Eurostar from Waterloo a "no-brainer" for trips to Paris or Brussels, the Anglo-French train operator claimed today as it announced a surge in the number of...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 19, 2005... Jul. 19--A DATE FOR THE DIARY: on the night of 16 September, the Maggie's cancer centres appeal is holding its Metro Life Hike around London. Undeterred by the bombings, the 17-mile overground walk will follow the route of the Circle line....

London firms 'took a gloomy view even before the bombs'.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Jane Padgham Jul. 19--While consumers may have proved more defiant than expected in the wake of the recent London bomb attacks, confidence among firms in the capital had crumbled even before they took place, it has emerged. A...

City watchdog in huge investigations shake-up.
July 19, 2005... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 19--The Financial Services Authority today unveiled a root-and-branch review of the way it handles enforcement powers as chief City watchdog. Eight major changes among 44 recommendations were outlined by...

City investors in feeding frenzy as RHM returns.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 19--This week's refloat of RHM has turned into a delightful bunfight among City investors, who have valued it at some [pounds sterling]1 billion. Shares in the Hovis, Mother's Pride and Bisto gravy food group...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 19--THE NEXT BIG TASK FOR THE FSA: When the Financial Services Authority (FSA) published its update on endowment mis-selling last week, it listed in its report all the fines it had levied on the industry for...

IBM bounces back to health.
July 19, 2005... Jul. 19--Computer giant IBM surprised Wall Street with better-than-expected quarterly earnings after a rebound in its services and software businesses. In the second quarter, the company recorded a net profit of $1.82 billion ([pounds...

Receiver wants Black's [pounds sterling]6.7m.
July 19, 2005... Jul. 19--A Canadian court-appointed receiver is demanding that fallen Press baron Lord Black pays back C$16 million ([pounds sterling]6.7 million) he received in loans from his holding company Ravelston. As well as Black, receiver RSM...

Brown scores a [pounds sterling]12.5 billion golden goal after U-turn on public spending rules.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 19--Gordon Brown today controversially moved the economic goalposts in a bid to free up some [pounds sterling]12.5 billion to prevent him breaking his fabled golden rule on public spending. The rule is Brown's...

British bid for Rover stalls over funding.
July 19, 2005... Jul. 19--Prospects of a British-led rescue of failed carmaker MG Rover appear to be fading amid frantic last minute jockeying for the remains of the collapsed Midlands carmaker, writes Jake Lloyd-Smith. Corporate troubleshooter David James...

'Worst value' directors.
July 19, 2005... Jul. 19--Directors at Rentokil and Wm Morrison were today named as among the worst value for money during the last financial year. Fuelled by the [pounds sterling]478,000 compensation for sacked chief executive Sir Clive Thompson, Rentokil...

Growth slows at Virgin Mobile.
July 19, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 19--Increasingly cut-throat competition in the mobile phone industry has seen user growth at Virgin Mobile slow dramatically while its churn rate -- the speed at which it loses customers -- is growing. Virgin...

Chinese cry off battle for Hoover maker Maytag.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--Chinese appliances group Haier has retreated from its bid for Maytag as Whirlpool brings up the heavy artillery to take on private equity group Ripplewood for control of the company. Haier was believed to be preparing an offer of...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--HANDSET SALES TO HIT ONE BILLION BY 2009: Mobile phone sales will exceed one billion handsets a year by 2009, with 2.6 billion people using one by then. Some 780 million are expected to be sold this year, according to research group...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--THE campaign to deify John King has started. A shareholder at the British Airways annual meeting suggested Heathrow's new Terminal 5, which will be for BA's exclusive use, be named the Lord King Terminal. Current chairman Martin...

Firms in energy costs challenge.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--Leading manufacturers are today squaring up to the Government over escalating energy costs. The Energy Intensive Users Group, whose members range from brickmakers to glassmakers, has called today's meeting with energy minister...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 20, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 20--It was surely one of those tricks of fate that official statistics showing at least 25 percent of the population now work for the Government should come out this week on the same day as figures revealing it...

All set for an August rate cut after bank's knife-edge vote.
July 20, 2005... Byline: Jane Padgham Jul. 20--An August cut in interest rates looked in the bag today after it emerged that four of the nine-strong Bank of England monetary policy committee voted for a reduction this month. Charlie Bean, the Bank's...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 20, 2005... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 20--City speculators are taking aim for a turkey shoot in Britain's power generation and supply market. Shares of the big electricity companies climbed higher today in the belief a foreign invasion may soon be...

Name game is a winner for O2.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--The enormous investment in O2's ubiquitous brand name -- on the shirts of Arsenal supporters, England rugby fans and on the Millennium Dome -- plus attempts to keep customers with better deals, resulted in bullish quarterly growth...

Brown's red ink blow.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--The dire state of public finances was in the spotlight again today after official figures showed the biggest June deficit since records began in 1984. The Treasury's coffers were in the red by [pounds sterling]12.3 billion last...

[pounds sterling]1.4bn port project go-ahead for P&O.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--P&O has been given the Government green light to build Britain's largest container port on the site of Shell's old Thames Haven oil refinery. The development at Thurrock in Essex, to be called Thames Gateway Port, will cover two...

Experian stars for GUS as Argos fails to shine.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--After six years of unbroken growth, catalogue stores chain Argos has suffered its second consecutive quarter of falling sales, although it says it is still taking market share from retail rivals. Underlying sales at the 601-strong...

'Unified' Shell goes two separate ways.
July 20, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 20--The so-called unification of Royal Dutch Shell got off to a confusing start for small investors today as the shares -- still split into two classes -- headed different directions in London. The Anglo-Dutch...

Tech stocks fall despite cheer at Intel and Yahoo.
July 20, 2005... Byline: Bill Condie Jul. 20--Technology stocks took fright in after-hours trade in New York despite strong increases in net earnings at chip giant Intel and media firm Yahoo. It has been a roller-coaster week for the sector after...

[pounds sterling]247m stake sale by UBM hands Channel Five to the Germans.
July 20, 2005... Jul. 20--Channel Five Television was today taken over by the Germans as Bertelsmann's European broadcasting group RTL bought out United Business Media's 35 percent stake for [pounds sterling]247.6 million. RTL will use its 100 percent...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 21, 2005... Jul. 21--DANONE SURGES DESPITE DISQUIET OVER US BID TALK: Growing nationalist opposition to a possible takeover of French foods giant Danone by US rival PepsiCo failed to prevent another surge in the European firm's shares today. Stock in...

Rover sale 'will go ahead despite dual challenge'.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Jul. 25--Administrators to the failed MG Rover carmaker today insisted that last Friday's sale to Nanjing Automobile was the best deal on the table and would go through. Tony Lomas of PricewaterhouseCoopers said:...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 25, 2005... Jul. 25--LI'S MEDIA GROUP COOLS F1 BID TALK: Media group TOM, part of billionaire Li Ka-shing's empire, played down reports it may bid for Formula One. "It is premature to suggest TOM is discussing any specific deal at this moment," it said,...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 25, 2005... Jul. 25--WAL-MART SETS TARGETS FOR EXPANSION IN CHINA: Wal-mart, the world's biggest retailer, plans to operate 55 stores in China by the end of this year and 90 by the end of 2006, a senior executive said today. The company, which owns Asda in...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 25, 2005... Jul. 25--DON'T you just love estate agents? As the gunshots echoed around Stockwell Tube station on Friday, Haart took the opportunity to try to pump up the property market, playing on the fears of nervous commuters. In a press release...

Ex-Shell boss Watts in showdown with FSA.
July 25, 2005... Byline: James Rossiter Jul. 25--Former Shell chairman Sir Philip Watts and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) were today set to clash in a key hearing that could determine the city regulator's legal rights and powers of investigation....

Pepsico rules itself out of Danone takeover.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Jul. 25--Pepsico has told French market regulator AMF that it is not lining up a takeover bid for France's food group Danone. According to reports in France today, officials from the US soft drink giant told...

London the hotspot as fraud cases spiral.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Robert Lea Jul. 25--London is in the grip of a fraud boom. The number of financial cons coming to court has surged in the first half of this year -- with a sharp increase in personal identity theft. Major fraud cases in London...

Illegal trading fear amid drink licence chaos.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 25--Almost 2700 pubs, restaurants and nightclubs in central London have still not applied for new alcohol licences, raising the prospect that most premises in the capital will be trading illegally when new rules...

Spitzer to strike 'payola' deal with music groups.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Jul. 25--New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer was today expected to unveil a multi-million-dollar settlement with Sony BMG Music, the world's top record company, over how such groups try to influence radio...

OPINION: Changing face of share-dealing.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 25--Buoyant profit figures from the London Stock Exchange disguise an uncomfortable truth. Private clients are simply not interested in shares any more. Their number is declining, the amount of business they do...

Monsoon wary despite surge in sales.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 25--Fashion retailer Monsoon has defied the High Street gloom, today reporting a 16 percent surge in sales over the past seven weeks. Profits for the year ended 28 May jumped by more than a third to [pounds...

The rough road to rescue.
July 25, 2005... Jul. 25--Nanjing and SAIC had teamed up in their initial approach to MG Rover, but pulled out of a rescue deal amid fears over the extent of the British company's potential liabilities. The reversal set the stage for MG Rover's demise. The...

[pounds sterling]1bn windfall for backers may be Reuters' good news.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 25--Shareholders in international news agency and financial information systems provider Reuters may find themselves in line for a [pounds sterling]1 billion windfall when the group publishes its long-awaited...

European 3G demand supporting growth at Vodafone.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 25--Vodafone sold more than one million 3G phones to consumers in the three months to end-June, the first time it has hit the milestone in a single quarter. That helped drive its worldwide customer base up 12...

Paris airports group maps out route to win top slot off BAA.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Ross Tieman Jul. 26--The French government is forging ahead with preparations for a partial privatisation of Aeroports de Paris (AdP), which has set itself the goal of overtaking Britain's BAA to become Europe's leading airport...

Cadbury defies Danone threat with sweet sales.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 26--Orangina-to-Dairy Milk group Cadbury Schweppes today shrugged off concerns that a PepsiCo takeover of French food and drinks group Danone would hurt its growth prospects. There have been some worries in...

Evening Standard, London, business briefs column.
July 26, 2005... Jul. 26--PAY-TO-PLAY 'BRIBES' EARN SONY BMG A [pounds sterling]5.8M FINE: Sony BMG Music Entertainment has been fined $10 million ([pounds sterling]5.8 million) for paying US radio stations to play songs by its artists. The inquiry was led...

BP earmarks [pounds sterling]400m for blast payouts, warns of delay at hurricane-hit rig.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 26--Oil giant BP today set aside $700 million ([pounds sterling]400 million) to cover the fatality and injury costs of the explosion at its Texas City refinery in March, which killed 15 people and left more than...

Evening Standard, London, City Spy column.
July 26, 2005... Jul. 26--STRANGE AND SINISTER STORY in Real IR magazine. It seems Shell may have found an innovative way of curbing difficult questions at investor meetings. At the oil giant's last AGM, when it came to questions for the board, a bank of red...

Fidelity threatened with lawsuit over 'illegal gifts'.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jake Lloyd-Smith Jul. 26--Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in America, could face a civil lawsuit from regulators amid allegations that some of its staff were plied with illegal gifts to channel their business...

Li applies brakes to F1 bid rumours.
July 26, 2005... Jul. 26--Asia's richest tycoon has for the second time in two days attempted to play down speculation that he is poised to make a $1 billion ([pounds sterling]572 million) swoop for the promotional rights for Formula One. TOM, a Hong...

Pensions worries boost St James's.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jane Padgham Jul. 26--Britain's pensions crisis is proving a boon to upmarket fund manager St James's Place. The firm enjoyed a 15 percent jump in new business in the half year to 30 June thanks to a 26 percent surge in the...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton column.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jul. 26--REUTERS PRESSING RIGHT BUTTONS: You have to be quite brave to call a strategy Fast Forward. For a generation that has grappled with videos and DVDs, it too often means everything passes in a blur, forcing...

Broker purge pulls two ways for JLT.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 26--New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has been a mixed blessing for Britain's biggest insurance broker, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, writes Jim Armitage. Since the Rottweiler of Wall Street hammered the giant...

Squeeze on orders lifts call to cut rates.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jane Padgham Jul. 26--The clamour for lower interest rates grew louder today after it emerged that Britain's manufacturers have suffered a third consecutive quarterly fall in orders. The latest snapshot of manufacturing from...

Evening Standard, London, market report column.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Mickey Clark Jul. 26--BRITISH AIRWAYS INVESTORS FACING A BUMPY LANDING: Shareholders at British Airways, down 3 1/4p at 271 1/4p, were being urged to fasten their seat belts today and brace themselves for turbulence over the next...

Malmaison set for [pounds sterling]105m expansion.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Jim Armitage Jul. 26--A float of the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin boutique chains took a step closer today as owner Marylebone Warwick Balfour raised [pounds sterling]105 million of new funding for expansion. MWB chief executive...

New cost cuts dampen Reuters' [pounds sterling]1bn buyback.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Nick Goodway Jul. 26--Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer cheered investors today by changing the currency sign on his massive share buyback from dollars to pounds. Instead of the promised $1 billion ([pounds sterling]572...

Somerfield facing a block on stores buy.
July 26, 2005... Byline: Fiona Walsh Jul. 26--The Competition Commission looks set to block Somerfield's acquisition of 14 supermarkets from Wm Morrison, saying the change of ownership would be anti-competitive. The 14 medium-sized outlets are part of...

Surging TI results boost tech sector.
July 26, 2005... Jul. 26--Texas Instruments has given the technology sector a shot in the arm with forecast-beating numbers and a bullish outlook for its chips. The Dallas-based company is the leading maker of processors for mobile phones, and its...