Financial News

Marco Tronchetti Provera has set himself a formidable task. The chairman of Telecom Italia and Telecom Italia Mobile is bringing together two companies that dominate their respective sectors and until recently were sworn enemies. At stake is not only the scale and cost benefits offered by a large-scale merger, but also, in Mr Tronchetti's view, the biggest prizes in an industry where long-held assumptions are tumbling in the face of technological convergence.

Volkswagen put in another stunning performance on Monday as investors continued to applaud the carmaker’s restructuring plans, revealed on Friday. // The stock climbed 5.2 per cent to €58.27, taking its rise over the past two days to some 15 per cent. On Friday, VW announced plans to axe up to 20,000 jobs over the next three years. It also unveiled much better than expected quarterly earnings, r ...

By Keiron Henderson LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index closed higher on Monday with banks the favoured sector after a bullish article about Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) in a business magazine , while directories firm Yell (YELL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose on bid talk. Barclays climbed 1.5 percent after U.S. business weekly Barron's reported that shares in the bank could rise as much as 20 percent as investors realise that fears about loan quality and profits were over ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders in ports group P&O (PO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) voted in favour of a $6.8 billion (3.9 billion pounds) takeover bid by Gulf state-backed Dubai Ports World on Monday, creating the world's third-largest ports group. Shareholders voted 99.5 percent in favour of the 520 pence-per-share offer by Dubai Ports, Chairman John Parker told a shareholder meeting. Dubai Ports declared victory in the bidding war for P&O on Friday after rival Singaporean port operator PSA ...

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Banking giant Barclays gained ground in London on Monday as a report highlighted potential share gains for the British-listed bank. The entire London-listed banking sector was also in focus amid speculation that the sector is set to report record profits in its upcoming reporting season. Barclays (BCS) shares added 1.1% in the main U.K. index. A report in Barron's on ...

LONDON (Reuters) - EasyJet (EZJ.L: Quote, Profile, Research) founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he opposed any takeover of airport operator BAA (BAA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) by Spain's Grupo Ferrovial SA (FER.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) , saying it would reduce competition and raise airport fees. "My initial view as a shareholder in an airline is that further consolidation in the European  ...

By Louise Heavens LONDON (Reuters) - Top shares held onto a modest gain on Monday after banking group Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained on a report that said fears about bad loans had been overdone, helping to offset a weak mining sector after commodities prices eased. Shares in Barclays added 0.7 percent after Barron's business weekly reported that Britain's third-biggest bank could rise 15 percent to 20 percent as investors realise that fears about loan quality and profits  ...

State-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft has posted another leap in profits after buying the key production assets of troubled rival Yukos. Oil from the huge Yuganskneftegaz fields helped push Rosneft's net profit to $3.7bn (£2.1bn) for the first nine months of 2005, up from $620m in 2004. Sales of oil and gas in the period rose from $1.9bn to $11.5bn. Rosneft bought Yugansk in 2004 after its was seized from Yukos to settle an unpaid tax bill. The deal more than doubled Rosneft's oil reser ...

Michael Clarke, This is Money13 February 2006 FOR the uninitiated the stock market can be a minefield. Pick the wrong investment and your money can go up in smoke. HEAD SCRATCH: Picking a winning share can be tough WANT TO KNOW MORE? READER SERVICE: Share dealing ADVICE & TIPS: Investing FTSE: Winners and losers BLOG: 'Property to beat shares?' TABLES: Best saving rates POLL: Where will the FTSE 100 finish at the end of 2006? OTHER STORIES Market report: Mon ...

Tom McGhie12 February 2006 LEADING airlines at Heathrow are prepared to fight alongside BAA, the airport's owner, in an attempt to repel a likely hostile bid from Spanish construction giant Grupo Ferrovial. WANT TO KNOW MORE? REPORT: Spanish face BAA battle READER SERVIVE: Share dealing FREE SERVICE: Company reports OTHER STORIES EC backs Britain over fuel costs Market report: Frida ...