GE eyes consumer finance unit IPO
General Electric is considering listing its consumer finance operations to fund more share buybacks and strengthen focus on its industrial businesses, its chief executive has indicated. Jeff Immelt told a…
Lack of PFI deals drives secondary market
Walking through any British city, it is easy to gauge the government’s appetite for new public buildings: of the few construction sites, hardly any bear the blue logos of the…
Labour unrest threatens UAE construction
The return of labour unrest in the United Arab Emirates is a reminder of potential pitfalls as the country embarks on a renewed construction drive. Workers at a leading contractor,…
US housing upturn boosts Toll Brothers
Toll Brothers reported a 46 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings as the US luxury homebuilder sold more homes at higher prices while new orders rose to the most in…
Corporate tax: Fiat Industrial
Welcome to Basildon! The English town is nothing if not inviting on its website. Even so, its burghers may not have envisaged their conurbation as a tax haven. Yet this…
Peugeot to shut R&D plant to cut costs
PSA Peugeot Citroën, Europe’s second-biggest carmaker by sales, plans to shut and sell off its 30-year-old Meudon plant on the outskirts of Paris but said on Wednesday that none of…
Defence: Military prepares for modernisation
©Reuters Cleared for take-off: funding for missile defence will soon dwarf the previous record military outlay of $3bn on US F-16 fighters Poland has embarked on one of the biggest…
Jerzy Wisniewski: Sour deals that brought PBG to its knees
©AFP Own goal: Wisniewski’s company is in a dispute over the building of the national football stadium in Warsaw Everybody makes mistakes, even successful businessmen, but when they blunder the…
Zytronic reports decline in turnover
Zytronic, the specialist manufacturer of touch sensors, has told investors that it has not yet detected any “discernible improvement” in orders following a disappointing six months. Less than two weeks…
Vertu Motors unveils acquisition
Vertu Motors has announced its biggest acquisition since 2007, and a £50m fully underwritten share placing that it hopes will power further deals. The car dealership group – which was…
Embraer in $8bn SkyWest aircraft supply deal
Embraer is to sell up to 200 aircraft to SkyWest, the world’s largest regional airline group, in a deal valued at up to $8bn that is set to revive the…
Fiat Industrial to move tax home to UK
©Bloomberg Fiat Industrial aims to move its tax residency to the UK from Italy after a merger with US business CNH to take advantage of a lighter fiscal regime, according…
Saab bosses held for alleged tax offences
©Bloomberg The former chief executive and finance director of bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab have been arrested over suspected tax offences. Jan-Åke Jonsson, chief executive from 2005-11, and Karl-Gustav Lindström, finance…
Eco City seizes chance to lift taxi sales
Eco City Vehicles has benefited from the troubles of its rival taxi supplier, doubling its share of the licensed London market to 40 per cent and increasing its revenues by…
Hague hints at veto of Syria arms ban
©PA William Hague, foreign secretary, declared on Monday that Britain will veto the renewal of the European Union arms embargo on Syria next week if EU member states block moves…