The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from June 2002

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from June 2002

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jun. 12--The overnight bath in technology stocks in New York dampened Asian markets today. A fall of more than 2 percent on Nasdaq, an ambiguous outlook from mobile phones giant Nokia and a steady stream of warnings...

Chief of British Financial Services Group Reaps Ukpound 3.2 Million Pay.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Falling stock markets have proved a boon for Man Group chief Stanley Fink, who reaped a UKpound 3.2 million salary and bonus package from the hedge funds company in the past financial year. The boom times at Man saw profits soar 21...

British Convenience Food Company Announces Sale of Yoghurt, Spreads Divisions.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Foods group Uniq today hung an UKpound 80 million For Sale sign over its St Ivel yoghurts and spreads divisions as it wrestles to cope with spiralling debts and huge losses. On his 100th day in office, new chief executive Bill...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 12--A CAUTIONARY TALE OF GLOBAL AMBITION: Smurfit, the Irish paper and packaging group, should be a cautionary tale for all companies tempted to listen to investor relations consultants. Until a few years...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Business on the London stock market was put on hold first thing today while traders and investors followed the fortunes of Beckham and the boys in Japan. Those few punters who had no interest in the outcome could still trade...

Evening Standard, London, Angus McCrone Column.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Angus McCrone Jun. 12--Revelations of terrorist plans to explode a "dirty bomb" in the US and to target British and American warships in the Mediterranean have deepened the general unease among stock market investors. However,...

Banks Pull the Plug on Germany-Based Media Empire.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Allan Hall Jun. 12--The death knell of the Kirch Media empire is echoing through Germany's archaic economic system and, finally, Fortress Deutschland -- with its singular way of doing business -- faces a major upheaval. Kirch...

British Ritual of Annual Company Meetings May Be Undergoing Renaissance.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Prynn Jun. 12--A frenzied series of social gatherings providing sport and entertainment for the monied classes. No, not Ascot, Wimbledon and Cowes, but the yearly round of company annual meetings. It is an institution as...

U.S. Computer Group Prepares Legal Challenge to European Pension Scheme Rules.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Patrick Hosking Jun. 12--A US company is preparing a pioneering legal challenge which could lead to employers being allowed to offer a single pension scheme to employees across the 15 nations of the European Union. At present,...

British Personnel Service Firm Says Permanent Placements Are Down 21 Percent.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Hays today laid bare the extent of the recruitment freeze in the City, saying that permanent placements are down 21 percent over the past year. But its gloomy picture is not as bad as that being revealed by some. Whitehead Mann,...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--SCARDINO FLAGGING A RECOVERY AT PEARSON: Pearson chief executive Dame Marjorie Scardino, right, today told investors that the education-to-publishing giant was still on course for a "significant recovery" in earnings. However, she...

British Maker of Defence Computer Equipment Ups Orders to Ukpound 40 Million.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Radstone Technology, which makes computer equipment designed to operate in bad weather and under enemy fire, has come through last September's profit warning crisis and boosted its order book to a record UKpound 40 million. The...

Chairman of British Stockbroker Firm Attacks Government's Economic Policy.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Nick Goodway Jun. 12--Sir David Howard, former Lord Mayor of London and chairman of private-client stockbroker Charles Stanley, launched an astonishing attack on the Government's economic policy today. He said: "The run of good...

Euro Nears U.S. Dollar Parity with Latest High of 95.06 Cents.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Europe's single currency smashed through the psychologically-important 95 US cents barrier today in the latest milestone in its climb back to dollar parity, writes Jane Padgham. It hit a high of 95.06 cents this morning -- the...

British Internet Group Makes Funding Deal with New York Private Equity Group.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Telecoms-to-internet group Affinity Internet has come up with a novel funding solution to its ambitions to take over rivals who are finding the going tough. It has struck a deal with New York private-equity group GEM Global Yield...

Former Lord Mayor of London to Take Lloyd's Chair.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Lloyd's of London has appointed former Lord Mayor of London Peter Levene as its new chairman in a bid to help modernise the loss-making insurance market. Although he has little direct experience of the insurance industry, Lord...

Overextended Chairman of British Postal Company Reduces Board Directorships.
June 12, 2002... Jun. 12--Allan Leighton, the businessman shaking up the Post Office and Royal Mail group Consignia, admitted today he is having to pare back his boardroom commitments. Having famously embarked on a mission of "going plural" two years ago...

Chairman of Anglo-Franco-Belgian Cross-Channel Train Service Quits.
June 12, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 12--The chairman of Eurostar has quit the heavily loss-making cross-Channel train service, writes Robert Lea. Frenchman David Azema, 41, is leaving before the implementation of a fundamental restructuring of the...

Railways Group Halts Takeover Talks in Britain.
June 17, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 17--GB Railways, the Anglian Railways group bringing Inter City travellers from East Anglia into London, has called off all takeover talks, writes Robert Lea. GB, whose shares rose 1 1/2 pence to 40 pence today...

Abbey National Boss Backs Call for Controls on Banks.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--Ian Harley, the beleaguered boss of Abbey National, plunged into further controversy today when he said he thought government was justified in wanting to impose controls on business banking. Harley made his comments to the...

Australian Group May Have Sights Set on London Airport.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 18--London City Airport is believed to be a target for acquisitive Australian group Macquarie Airports as part of the investment bank-backed group's plans to expand in Britain and Europe. Insiders believe the...

Last Lawyer at Andersen Legal Firm Left to Find New Jobs for Staff.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 18--Tony Williams is the last lawyer left at Andersen's glittering headquarters on the Strand. But, unlike the accountants who will shortly embark on new careers at Deloitte & Touche, no desk awaits him. He, like...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jun. 18--Japanese stocks rebounded today as an overnight surge in US markets unleashed a powerful wave of bargain-hunting after recent heavy losses. The response to the 2.2 percent rise on Wall Street, and 3.2...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--BAT FACES UKPOUND 75M AUSSIE ACTION: Tobacco giant BAT is facing more legal action in Australia with retailers today launching a claim that could cost it A$200 million (UKpound 75 million). BAT, which was accused in April of...

Evening Standard, London, Joanne Hart Column.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Joanne Hart Jun. 18--The past two years may have been a miserable time for stock market investors but they have been interestingly prosperous for the Stock Exchange. Its just-published annual report says turnover grew 25...

Fall in Inflation in Britain Eases Interest Rate Pressure.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 18--Underlying inflation in Britain fell to 1.8 percent in May, under-shooting economists' expectations and calming fears of a rise in interest rates next month. The Office for National Statistics said retail...

Evening Standard, London, Andrew Smithers Column.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Andrew Smithers Jun. 18--NO GUARANTEE OF US LENDERS GETTING IT RIGHT: Conflicts of interest are a hot topic. Paul Myners' report on pension funds drew attention to them in the UK. In the US, they have been dramatised by the...

Stock Prices in London Hold Sway after Mark-Up Dies Away.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--Last night's 213-points rally by the Dow on Wall Street proved to be no incentive to cautious City investors today. Prices in London went into reverse after an early mark-up quickly ran out of steam. The FTSE 100 index nursed a...

Vivendi in Dual Bid to Ease Debt Burden.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--Media conglomerate Vivendi Universal today moved to cut its massive debts by slashing its stake in utility subsidiary Vivendi Environnement, which provides water, waste and rail services for millions of Britons. VU boss Jean-Marie...

Pubs Chain Grabbed by Brewer in Britain.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--Brewer Greene King is to buy pubs group Morrells of Oxford for UKpound 67 million, confirming its status as a major player in the South of England. Morrells owns 57 managed and 50 tenanted pubs in and around Oxford, some of which...

Defence Work Gives Babcock International Full Order Book in Britain.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Withers Jun. 18--Babcock International, which is increasingly dependent on defence spending, is near to completing work on Britain's latest aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, and will be working on HMS Invincible in dry dock...

British Football Newspapers Group Calls in Administrators.
June 18, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 18--Non-League Media, the football newspapers group whose directors include Sir Bobby Robson, has gone into administration seven months after an accounting scandal that saw its chairman's assets frozen. The...

Power Company Snapped Up by French Firm for UKpound 1.4 Billion.
June 18, 2002... Jun. 18--State-owned Electricite de France tightened its grip on the London and South-East England energy market today by paying UKpound 1.4 billion to take control of regional power company Seeboard. The French, who already own London...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jun. 19--Asian markets were soured today as downbeat earnings news from Apple Computer and other leading US makers of electronic parts further undermined confidence in a rebound in demand for the region's major players in...

Evening Standard, London, Business Briefs Column.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--PARKMAN ORDER BOOK BOOMS: Chancellor Gordon Brown's drive to improve Britain's transport system has led to a record UKpound 102 million order book for consulting engineer and asset management group Parkman. It is involved in...

British Monetary Panel's Mood Hardens for Interest-Rate Rise.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--The Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted almost unanimously in favour of this month's interest rate freeze, but cleared the ground for a rise soon. Deputy Governor Mervyn King was the only dissenting voice on the...

Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--City investors were battening down the hatches and bracing themselves for further heavy losses when Wall Street resumes trading. In London, the financial futures market was indicating an opening fall for the Dow Jones of more than...

Evening Standard, London, Angus McCrone Column.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Angus McCrone Jun. 19--Within a fortnight of offering a new bet on the Halifax house price index, bookie IG Index took a call from a customer wanting a spread bet to hedge his own UKpound 10 million property holdings against a...

OPINION: Economists Question Corporate Statistics, Accounting Figures.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 19--It is not just the figures in corporate accounts that have been looking a bit dodgy. Increasingly, erudite economists, including those at the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of...

Sale of TRW's British Unit Puts Defence Jobs in Doubt.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--TRW, the heavily-indebted US defence company being stalked by BAE Systems, has off-loaded its British-based aeronautical business for $1.5 billion (UKpound 1 billion), sparking concern about the prospect of heavy UK job losses. ...

Vodafone Chief Picks Up UKpound 2.4 Million Pay Packet.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Nick Goodway Jun. 19--Vodafone boss Sir Christopher Gent picked up UKpound 2.4 million in pay last year and will collect another UKpound 1.8 million in share bonuses next month. This was despite a collapse in the world's...

Writedown Puts British Bars Operator in Red.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Jim Armitage Jun. 19--Bars operator Po Na Na today reported a sharp plunge into the red as a huge writedown in the value of its estate conspired with delays in selling underperforming venues. Po Na Na's shares have almost...

Evening Standard, London, Business Digest Column.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--LONDON FINANCIAL DISTRICT APPLAUDS CUTS AT AMP: Leading institutions today cheered the news of 1500 jobs cuts at the UK offices of Australia's AMP, with Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston upgrading their headline earnings...

Goodrich Buys TRW Aeronautical Unit for UKpound 1 Billion.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 19--Goodrich, one of America's largest aerospace companies, has bought TRW's Midlands-based aeronautical business for $1.5 billion (UKpound 1 billion), writes. TRW Aerospace, formerly known as Lucas Aerospace,...

Gucci Down at the Heel on 42 Percent Profits Slide.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--Luxury goods group Gucci is suffering from a prolonged bout of purse-tightening among the rich and fashionable who put their shopping trips on hold in the first quarter of the year. Net profits slid 42 percent to a...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 19--The stock market is always dull in Ascot week because half of British business is schmoozing the other in the boxes and Royal Enclosure, and that does not leave enough people and money around to provide...

OPINION: Vodafone Policy Switch Won't Cure Bonus Ills.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 19--It is difficult to know what to make of Vodafone chief executive Sir Christopher Gent's UKpound 2.4 million pay deal. On the one hand, he is running one of the world's biggest companies. On the other, the...

P&O Princess Cruises Gets Nod for Royal Caribbean Merger.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--P&O Princess Cruises today won permission to steam ahead with its UKpound 5.87 billion merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises by Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt, writes Sarah Marks. She accepted the findings of the Competition...

Britain's Xansa Suffers Blow as HBOS Pulls Plug on Joint Venture.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--The run of bad news for Xansa shareholders continued today when the computer services company said HBOS had scrapped their lucrative joint venture. Xansa shares dropped 25 1/2 pence to 113 1/2 pence, extending their crash from 382...

British Telecommunications Firm Accepts Rival's UKpound 43 Million Offer.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Nick Goodway Jun. 19--The brief and turbulent life of telecoms and internet software group Riversoft as a public company drew to a close today as it recommended a UKpound 43.3 million takeover bid from Nasdaq-listed rival...

Vodafone Squares Up Its Policy on Pay Deals.
June 19, 2002... Byline: Nick Goodway Jun. 19--When it comes to the vote at next month's annual meeting, Vodafone's new remuneration policy should go through on the nod. That is because for the past 10 months the company has been squaring its position not...

U.K.-Based Wireless Phone Company Rolls out Three-Tiered Executive Pay Scheme.
June 19, 2002... Jun. 19--Vodafone's new executive remuneration scheme has three main elements. Base salary will continue at current levels but total remuneration will now be compared with European rather than US companies. That lowers the potential payout...

Evening Standard, London, Asian Markets Column.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jun. 20--The threat of a US price-fixing probe into semiconductors sent shares of South Korean manufacturers plunging today. Other chip-related stocks weakened after downbeat forecasts from US computer makers called...

Head of Club Med Hopes for Company Turnaround This Summer.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Ross Tieman Jun. 20--Club Med boss Philippe Bourguignon seems fated to travel but never to arrive. After five years battling to improve the profitability of France's biggest holiday company, the man who turned Euro Disneyland...

France Awaits First Moves of Newly-Reinvigorated President Chirac.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Stewart Fleming Jun. 20--Since Jacques Chirac triumphed over his far-right challenger Jean-Marie Le Pen in last month's presidential election France has been holding its breath. Would "les Bleus" lift the nation's battered...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 20--EURO REALITY: In its regular bulletins on the euro the Bank of England has often made it clear that the UK retail banking sector might need a long period of adjustment before it was ready for the single...

OPINION: British Football Television Deal Climate Gets Uglier.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Alan Sugar Jun. 20--The UKpound 1.1 billion deal between BSkyB and the Premier League runs out in 2004. This may sound a while away, but there are a few worried chairmen who are starting to realise that the gravy-train days may be...

Information Company Reuters Sees Shares Drop after Warning.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Shares in information giant Reuters tumbled to eight-and-a-half-year lows today as it warned that trading remained "challenging". A further cost-cutting cull of management "old guard" to save UKpound 100 million a year did little...

Oil Companies Scramble to Make Deals in Russia.
June 20, 2002... Byline: James Hansam Jun. 20--Russia's Sakhalin Island is a grim former Soviet penal colony which, even in czarist times, Chekhov described as a living hell, the most depressing place he had ever seen. But to Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell,...

Scottish Power Rallies to Light Up the Gloom.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Scottish Power shone brightly in an otherwise lacklustre stock market today as the electricity generator set about clawing back some of yesterday's losses that saw the shares strike a five-year low. In active trading, the price...

Chairman of British Company Telewest Caught in Second Mistake.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Telewest chairman Cob Stenham, forced last weekend to admit to an error over directors' pay, appears to have misled shareholders for a second time, Business Day can reveal. Stenham repeatedly reassured shareholders at the company's...

Independent British Bank Leopold Joseph Gains More Affluent Clients.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Independent private bank Leopold Joseph is picking up well-heeled clients who are no longer prepared to tolerate the potential conflicts of interest of the large investment banking groups. The tiny listed bank boosted its client...

French Government Official Performs Poorly Outside of Business World.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Among the leading industrial countries it is rare for a business leader to be handed a top political job and even rarer for the appointee to do it well. For every Robert Rubin, President Bill Clinton's impressive Treasury...

Yorkshire, England, Chemical Firm Hurt by Decline in Regional Textile Industry.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Withers Jun. 20--Textile customers are moving production to the Far East, leading to a severe decline in demand for Croda International's chemicals used in the once-thriving industry in Yorkshire. Croda is to close its...

Irish Drinks Group to Float Stock at euro1.1 Billion.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Cantrell & Cochrane, the Irish drinks group immortalised in the works of James Joyce, today priced its stock market flotation at euro1.1 billion (UKpound 706 million), lower than analysts had expected. The company, now known as...

British Engineering Group IMI Still Seeks Buyer for Piping Subsidiary.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Specialist engineering group IMI still has the For Sale sign over its Polypipe business, with several private equity investors believed to be interested. IMI paid UKpound 337 million for Polypipe in 1998 and put it on the market...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 20--In its regular bulletins on the euro the Bank of England has often made it clear that the UK retail banking sector might need a long period of adjustment before it was ready for the single currency. But it...

London Investment Houses to Vote on Future of Investment Trust.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Some of the City's leading investment houses are getting together to force fellow fund manager Govett to wind up one of London's biggest investment trusts because of its poor performance, Zurich, M&G, Standard Life, Legal & General...

Evening Standard, London, Japanese Economy Column.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Ray Heath Jun. 20--Japan's trade surplus ballooned by more than 700 percent in May as exports to other Asian countries soared 15 percent. Exports rose by 8.8 percent while imports slipped for the tenth month, but there was a...

Upscale Lingerie Store Changes Strategy for New Downtown London Store.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 20--Agent Provocateur, the purveyor of upmarket saucy lingerie, is opening a boutique in the heart of the City, just a brief distance from the Bank of England. But while a host of sexy celebrities, including...

Nokia Lowers Its Sights Again as Apathy Sets the Alarms Ringing.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--The world's biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia, today lowered its sales forecasts for the second time in two months against a backdrop of sluggish demand for new handsets. Despite constantly upgrading the technical gadgetry on its...

British Telecoms Regulator Hopes to Ensure Customers Only One Bill.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Patrick Hosking Jun. 20--Telecoms regulator Oftel today paved the way for single phone bills for retail customers who use rival domestic services to British Telecom. Oftel unveiled a plan to compel BT to offer a new wholesale...

British Railways, Environmental Firm Lays Out Shareholder Cash Return Strategy.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Robert Lea Jun. 20--AEA Technology, the privatised nuclear-industry company-turned railways and environmental consultant, finally unveiled its long-awaited return of cash to shareholders today. The business, which has been...

British Retailer House of Fraser Sees Sales Increase 4 Percent.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--House of Fraser added to the picture of a booming High Street today with new figures showing like-for-like sales surging by 4 percent in the first 20 weeks of the year. This compares with even stronger sales growth of 8.1 percent...

British Sportswear Firm Sells Out of Replica Strip before World Cup.
June 20, 2002... Byline: Sarah Marks Jun. 20--Fashion and sportswear empire JD Sports has failed to cash in on the England football team's World Cup success because its stores sold out of replica strip before the tournament started. Replica kit...

Evening Standard, London, Travel Tips Column.
June 20, 2002... Jun. 20--Want a getaway with a great hotel at a bargain price? There are discounts as high as 66 percent in Utell's Great Rate summer programme from 1 July to 3 September, as long as you book at least two nights. Examples: 29 percent off the...

UK Insurer Announces It Will Not Hike Reserves against Asbestosis Claims.
June 21, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 21--Insurance company Equitas, which is sorting out the liabilities of Lloyd's of London up to 1992, gave the London insurance market a big boost today when it revealed that it is not increasing its reserves...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 21, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 21--There is more information in the just-published annual report of the Financial Services Authority than can be absorbed by all but the most avid regulatory groupie. But it still manages to avoid the issues...

'King of Loyalty Cards' Launches Single-Card Scheme with UKpound 50 Million.
June 21, 2002... Byline: Patrick Hosking Jun. 21--Keith Mills is the king of loyalty cards. The man who invented Air Miles has a new project. He and his clients are spending about UKpound 50 million launching a new loyalty programme, and 12 million people...

Footsie Hits Gloom as Britain Falls Out of World Cup.
June 21, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Whithers Jun. 21--The antics of the Footsie during the triple witching hour as the futures unwound provided almost as much excitement as the World Cup. On the longest day of the year, which had the shortest attention...

Professor Writes that Britain at High Risk for Document-Shredding Scandal.
June 21, 2002... Jun. 21--Britain is more at risk of an Enron-style scandal involving document shredding or false accounting by auditors than the US, a leading critic of the accountancy profession claims, writes Ross Davies. In a forthcoming book, Prem...

London Economists Predict that Euro Will Reach Parity with Dollar in 2002.
June 21, 2002... Jun. 21--City economists are almost unanimous in predicting the euro will reach parity with the dollar before the end of the year, with a growing number expecting it to happen within weeks, a Business Day poll shows, writes Jim Armitage. ...

Ireland-Based Food Wholesaler Bids for Convenience Store Chain.
June 21, 2002... Jun. 21--Ireland's biggest food and groceries wholesaler, Musgrave, today made a recommended 135 pence-a-share bid for convenience stores chain Budgens, valuing the group at UKpound 231.6 million, writes Sarah Marks. Musgrave bought a 28...

Evening Standard, London, Anthony Hilton Column.
June 21, 2002... Byline: Anthony Hilton Jun. 21--It is often said that American lawyers make most of their money from out-of-court settlements. The defendants are so intimidated by the bad publicity, the potential costs of a defence and the distraction it...