■ Vodafone has announced that Piramal Healthcare has acquired a further 5.5 per cent stake of Vodafone India (VIL) from ETHL Communications (Essar) for 30.07bn rupees (£385m), raising its total interest to 11 per cent.
■ Randgold Resources, the west Africa-focused gold miner, saw sales in the final three months of last year rise 1.3 per cent over the previous quarter.
■ Vodafone has announced this morning that it has called off a potential "business combination" with Greek telecoms group Wind Hellas.
■ Budget airline easyJet saw passenger numbers nudge 0.4 per cent lower last month, but the load factory saw a slightly improvement.
■ Allocate Software, a provider of workforce and compliance software, said total revenue for the year was flat while EBITDA fell to £1.6m from £3.8m before.
■ Business events organiser and publisher UBM has sold its UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios to a new business, Briefing Media Group, for a total of £10m.
■ FTSE 250 natural resources royalties company Anglo Pacific has agreed to a proposal to buy 50 per cent of Red Rock Resources' Mount Ida iron ore royalty for $14m
■ Compass, the food and support services firm, has announced the completion of its acquisition of foodservices provider DORA Gastro through its subsidiary Eurest, following clearance from the Office for the Protection of Competition in the Czech Republic.
■ Allied Gold Mining, the gold miner with significant interests in Papua New Guinea, says the government has confirmed two of its key licences in the country are "legally in good standing".
■ Business space provider Workspace has named Jamie Hopkins as chief executive, with effect from 1 April 2012 as Harry Platt retires at the end of March.
■ FTSE 250 oil and gas exploration and production firm Premier Oil has reported that the East Fyne Appraisal well in the North Sea, which it operates, is being plugged and abandoned.
■ Exillon Energy, an oil producer focused on northern Russia, has agreed a new $100m loan facility with Credit Suisse.
■ FTSE 250 oil and gas company Afren has announced that Eni Ghana has started drilling the Nunya-1X exploration well on the Keta black, offshore Ghana, in which it owns a 35 per cent interest.
■ UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) has unveiled plans for a £150m redevelopment of Shrewsbury town centre, Shropshire, combining its three shopping centres into a single, combined centre called New Riverside.
■ EKF Diagnostics, a manufacturer of medical devices, has been awarded a contract to supply the State of New Mexico's Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics with its point-of-care haemoglobin testing instrument.
■ Glencore may face a regulatory hurdle in its attempted merger with fellow FTSE 100 commodity company Xstrata, reports the Daily Telegraph.
■ Angel Biotechnology, the AIM listed producer of proteins and cell therapies, has signed a further three manufacturing contracts with Materia Medica worth in excess of £4.5m.
■ Imaging software provider OMG has announced that its Yotta DCL division, the UK's leading highway surveying company, has signed a four-year contract with the Highways Agency.
■ Norseman Gold, the struggling Australian gold producer, says an announcement will be made "soon" on a corporate restructuring.
■ Satellite operator Avanti Communications has reported widening half year losses for the six months ended December 31st after costs rose more than revenue, year-on-year.
■ Richland Resources, the coloured gem stone miner, says new tests have indicated the life of its Mereleni mine in Tanzania could be extended by 30 years.
■ Ferrex, the Africa-focused iron ore and manganese explorer, says two of its projects will provide "maiden resources" in the next six months.
■ Alba Mineral Resources, a UK-based exploration company, is pleased to announce that FOSSE Investments, its joint venture partner in Mauritania, has agreed to take ordinary shares in Alba by way of payment for part of the balance due by Alba to the joint venture.
■ The proposed changes to Bumi's board of directors is "purely" about making the board as strong and manageable as possible, according to Chris Fong, a spokesman at the Bakrie Group, a Bumi shareholder.
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Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:
Surge in US jobs lifts hopes for global economy and Obama's poll prospects
The US unemployment rate dropped to a three year low in January of 8.3 per cent, helped by 243,000 new jobs being created. The figures followed other positive indicators last week, suggesting America's economic recovery was gaining momentum and giving a boost to President Obama's re-election chances.[Financial Times p.1]
Bakries move to oust Rothschild
Nat Rothschild and four other directors of London-listed coalminer Bumi faces being ousted by Indonesia's Bakrie family who control just under 30 per cent of the company. Shares in Bumi fell 4.5 per cent to 850p in London as the move was regarded as a setback for Rothschild who has been seeking to improve corporate governance at affiliate PT Bumi Resources.[Financial Times p.1]
We can't do business in the UK, say top bankers
Global bankers have warned that the UK's actions to curb bankers' pay was creating an anti-business bandwagon which would harm the UK's reputation as a place to do business. Criticism of bankers' bonuses is likely to intensify this week if Barclays announces a bumper payout to CEO Bob Diamond. Meanwhile, Nicola Horlick says in an interview with the Times that the country 'should be careful not to kill the golden goose by demonising bankers'.[Times pp.1, 34-35]
City donors lash out at Cameron
The Conservative Party faces a revolt from City donors because of the escalating 'anti-business' rhetoric from the government. Icap CEO Michael Spencer, one of the top fundraisers for the Tories, has also accused the coalition of 'bullying' Stephen Hester into giving up his £1m bonus.[Sunday Times pp.3.1, 3.7]
Barclays stokes bonus row as profits hit £6bn
Barclays is expected this week to unveil full-year profits of nearly £6bn which will trigger a £2m bonus for CEO Bob Diamond. Barclays is also due to pay its investment bankers a total of about £1.5bn in bonuses, although this will be 30 per cent less than last year.[Sunday Times p.3.1]
Revealed: Facebook's network in offshore tax havens
Facebook has been attempting to reduce its tax bill by funnelling 'hundreds of millions of dollars' through its Irish operation, according to the accounts of its Dublin-based subsidiary. The Irish offshoot is thought to be part of an 'elaborate web' to facilitate transfer pricing between various jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands.[Sunday Times p.3.1]
Bank to pump extra £50bn into economy
The Bank of England is expected to decide this week to inject another £50bn into the economy via its quantitative easing programme. Analysts believe that even signs that the economy is recovering faster than expected will not deter the Bank from acting after further QE is authorised by the Monetary Policy Committee.[Sunday Times p.3.2]
Investors threat to Davis over Glencore
Xstrata chairman Sir John Bond and CEO Mick Davis could be voted off the board by disgruntled investors, unhappy with the 'cosy stitch-up' of the potential merger with Glencore. Half of Xstrata's top ten investors say they are annoyed that management has so far failed to explain why a 'merger of equals' should be considered without a premium payment by Glencore.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]
Reckitt to axe profit reports
Reckitt Benckiser's new strategy under CEO Rakesh Kapoor, who took over from Bart Becht last year, will switch the focus from the US and Europe towards emerging markets. Kapoor is also expected to abandon quarterly financial reports because it encourages investors to take a short-term view of performance and prospects.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]
Sorrell: stop anti-business attacks
WPP Group CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has called for an end to 'business bashing' with a warning that if politicians keep attacking the private successful companies may decide to relocate abroad. But Marks & Spencer deputy chairman Sir David Michels, in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, calls for a 'moral crusade' to restrain escalating executive pay.[Sunday Telegraph pp.B1, B2, B9]
