Financial News

MOSCOW (Reuters) - One of Russia's largest grocery chains, Pyaterochka, confirmed on Thursday it was in merger talks with another large supermarket, Perekryostok. "Pyaterochka Holding N.V. confirms that it is in discussion with Perekryostok, Russia's leading supermarket operator, which may lead to the merger of the two businesses," Pyaterochka (PJPq.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said in a disclos ...

Goff Foster, Daily Mail6 April 2006 HARRY hedge fund had Vodafone buzzing on a day when the fabulous Footsie jumped a further 39.4 points to a five-year high of 6044.1. OTHER STORIES Market report: Thursday preview Isa savers face final countdown New on the market Smaller Companies report: Wed close Stocks boom spurs cash dash into Isas THE EDITOR'S CHOICE TOP ADVICE: How to ...

By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent Published: April 4 2006 22:31 | Last updated: April 5 2006 14:29FL?Group's sale of its 16.9 per cent stake in EasyJet ends months of takeover speculation in the stock and forces investors' attention back on to the low-cost airline's fundamentals. Iceland's FL Group accumulated its stake gradually since October 2004, becoming the airline's largest shareholder ...

A fresh round of M&A talk pushed the FTSE 100 to its highest close since February 2001 on Wednesday. // The main index rose 39.4 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6,044.1 while the FTSE 250 gained 42.7 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 9,935.0, an all-time closing high. Smith & Nephew, the medical devices maker, gained 3.9 per cent to 536p on consolidation hopes amid reports that US peer Biomet had ...

Mining stocks helped the U.K.'s main index close higher Wednesday, riding on the back of gains for the sector in Australia and bullish comments from two brokers, while easyJet slumped after takeover hopes faded. A positive open on Wall Street also helped provide direction after U.K. stocks had held flat for much of the day. The FTSE 100 index added 0.7% at 6,044, and other European markets a ...

Lawyers and innovation are not words that people automatically put together. Being a good lawyer is traditionally about caution, prudence and risk analysis. Businesses innovate and lawyers protect. Innovation has not been on the lawyers’ agenda, and until recently there has been little requirement for it to be there. // In the past five years, however, the legal landscape has been transformed. International expansion and the demands of cost-conscious clients have thrown down new challenges to t ...

By Matt Falloon LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index raced to its highest close in more than five years on Wednesday after a topsy-turvy session, as miners climbed and brewer Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose on bid speculation. Talk of more mergers and acquisitions bolstered other sectors in the FTSE 100, with mobile phone giant Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and medical devices maker Smith & Nephew (SN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) included in the ch ...

Poland's government has struck a compromise deal with Italian bank Unicredito, which will allow the company to merge two Polish banks. The deal will see Unicredito complete the takeover of Polish bank BPH and then merge it with Pekao, a bank which the Italian firm already owns. Poland had originally tried to thwart the takeover, prompting intervention from the EU. The EU argued that Poland was breaching free market rules. "We have a good compromise," said Poland's Prime Minister Kazimierz Ma ...

Budget airline easyJet slumped in a broadly flat U.K. market Wednesday after an Icelandic group sold its stake in the carrier, hurting hopes of a takeover bid. EasyJetgave up around 8%, comfortably the biggest faller on the U.K.'s mid-cap index, after Iceland's FL Group sold its entire 16.9% shareholding for 325 million euros ($394 million), realizing a profit of 140 million euros. The inves ...

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- French defense-electronics group Thales SA on Wednesday agreed to buy Alcatel's satellite operations as well as its transport and security businesses in a cash and paper transaction valued at 1.67 billion euros ($2.05 billion). The acquisition, which may well herald the start of long-awaited consolidation of the French defense sector, will allow Thales to strengthen it mil ...