Financial News

This is Money2 February 2006 OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell announced record profits for a UK company of £12.93bn today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? POLL: How much would petrol have to cost before you gave up your car? OTHER STORIES Standard Life slashes payouts again Market report: Thursday preview BAE deal to ease pension problems Takeover talk gives Lloyds a lift Fight back against cold callers THE EDITOR'S CHOICE NEW TOOL: Broadband finder NEW TOOL: Cut your  ...

By Mathieu Robbins and Elisabeth O'Leary LONDON/MADRID (Reuters) - Lloyds TSB, whose shares rose on Wednesday by more than 8 percent on takeover speculation, is not currently in talks to be taken over, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. Shares in the bank jumped on fresh bid talk, with Spain's BBVA identified as a possible predator, but the sources said Lloyds was not in talks and they were not aware of any imminent bid. Lloyds, Britain's fifth-biggest bank by market value ...

By Friedel Rother LONDON (Reuters) - Top stocks set a fresh 4-1/2 year closing high on Wednesday, lifting the FTSE 100 index through the 5,800-point mark, as bid speculation drove bank Lloyds TSB, consumer products group Unilever and market researcher Taylor Nelson Sofres higher. An upbeat mood surrounded broadcaster BSkyB as well, up 3.3 percent after revealing its biggest quarterly rise in new customers in three years, while defence group BAE Systems added 3.7 percent after a ballot of its e ...

Greg Wright Deputy Business EditorTHE owner of Young's Bluecrest Seafood yesterday revealed it had bought Findus, in a move which brings together two of the biggest names in frozen food.FoodVest, a holding company controlled by the equity firm, Capvest Equity Partners, signed an agreement with Scandinavian private equity firm EQT II to acquire Findus. The financial details were not disclosed.FoodV ...

Bill Condie, Evening Standard1 February 2006 DISAPPOINTING fourth-quarter results at Google have raised questions over its controversial policy of not making any revenue or profit forecasts. WANT TO KNOW MORE? BOARDS SEARCH: 'Google' POLL: Google - dotcom fad or sound business with a bright future? OTHER STORIES Murdoch wary despite Sky wins Blair to back retirement at 67 Market rep ...

This is Money31 January 2006 BANKING giant Abbey has apologised for sending a letter addressed to a one-year-old girl inviting her to take out a £20,000 loan. WANT TO KNOW MORE? REPORT: So much for credit checks GUIDE: Get out of debt BLOG: Money lost in cyberspace OTHER STORIES Murdoch wary despite Sky wins Blair to back retirement at 67 Market report: Wednesday close Compass ...

Jim Armitage, Evening Standard1 February 2006 BRITAIN'S biggest limousine hire company has gone bust after skyhigh petrol prices made its sixmilesto-the-gallon stretch Hummers too expensive to fill up. WANT TO KNOW MORE? CALCULATOR: True car costs CALCULATOR: Petrol bills CACULATOR: Drive or fly on holiday? POLL: Are you worried about the rising cost of oil and the knock-on effect it could h ...

Evening Standard1 February 2006 PUBS and bars operators Mitchells & Butlers is on a collision course with one of the largest pensions advisory bodies over proposals for new multimillion pound pay deals. OTHER STORIES Murdoch wary despite Sky wins Blair to back retirement at 67 Market report: Wednesday close Compass under fire in UN deals scandal Takeover talk gives Lloyds a lift  ...

Ross Tieman, Evening Standard1 February 2006 BANKING, legal and public relations advisers are set for a bonanza of about e80m (£55m) in fees as Mittal's e18.6bn hostile bid for rival steelmaker Arcelor turns into a battle of the leviathans. OTHER STORIES Murdoch wary despite Sky wins Blair to back retirement at 67 Market report: Wednesday close Compass under fire in UN deals scan ...

Nick Goodway, Evening Standard1 February 2006 JAMES MURDOCH'S drive to attract subscribers to BSkyB saw the satellite broadcaster record a bumper run-up to Christmas as its added 215,000 new customers, taking the total to 8.1m. SKY'S THE LIMIT: Murdoch jnr has proved a lot of his critics wrong OTHER STORIES Blair to back retirement at 67 Market report: Wednesday close Compass under fire in UN deals scandal Takeover talk gives Lloyds a lift Fight back against cold calle ...