Nasdaq votes down LSE resolutions
Nasdaq, the New York exchange with a 30 per cent holding in the London market, has voted down two resolutions at the LSE’s annual meeting. The resolutions concern the standard allotment of shares by the company and have no effect on the proposed merger with the Borsa Italiana in Milan. Nasdaq said that it was not “responsible” to provide LSE management with blanket authority to issue shares. The LSE called the Nasdaq decision “odd, to say the least”. The Borsa purchase will require another vote and the LSE, which has been lobbying other US investors heavily, repeated its stance that it would have “more than sufficient support” at such a vote.
‘Browsers’ disappear
The traditional property market “browser” has all but disappeared as interest-rate rises bite and high prices shake out window shoppers, according to Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt Developments. With reservations on the rise, however, he suggested that the homebuyer had not gone away. Forward sales at Barratt, which bought Wilson Bowden this year, are up 15 per cent on a year ago to £1.4 billion.
Sainsbury’s vote
Shareholders in J Sainsbury, the subject of takeover speculation, voted in favour of the company’s remuneration report despite complaints about executive pay. Sir Philip Hampton, chairman, told the annual meeting that executive pay had been rising significantly more than inflation: “It’s a fact of corporate life.” He added that Justin King, the chief executive, had until last year had pay increases only in line with inflation.
Burberry expansion
Burberry is set to double its North American presence over five years in a global plan to increase its own-branded stores. The upmarket fashion firm, best known for its distinctive checked pattern, will spend £60 million this year opening 13 stores in the United States, bringing its North American total to 50. It will open a further ten stores each year to 2012, giving it 100. Burberry will also open more stores in Russia.
Pair could fight News Corp for Dow Jones
Ron Burkle, the supermarket mogul, and Brad Greenspan, a founder of MySpace, have been asked to work up a proposal to buy half of Dow Jones. The pair could provide an alternative to News Corporation’s $5 billion (£2.5 billion) offer. They made an initial presentation to Dow Jones’s board on Monday and were asked to produce a formal document. News Corp, parent company of The Times, remains the frontrunner amid signs that Dow Jones is prepared to shift negotiations to price as details of a deal on editorial independence are ironed out.
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Wii’s creative force
Steven Spielberg and Shigeru Miyamoto, giants of the film and video games industries, have pooled their creative energies in a new game to be released on Nintendo’s Wii console by Electronic Arts. The new title is billed as an “action puzzle”. The idea underscores the revolution being wrought in the games market by Nintendo’s new-found dominance.
For more on this go to timesonline.co.uk/tech
Refco legal claims
Creditors of Refco, said to be owed up to $17 billion, have been advised that Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, the Anglo-American law firm, and the accountants Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton should face legal claims over alleged fraud at the failed broker. Joshua Hochberg, a leading lawyer, in a report commissioned by the US Justice Department, said that creditors had strong claims.
Spectrum sale
The US Government is looking at draft rules for an auction for spectrum, a wide range of radio frequencies, that would create an open network free of restrictions usually imposed by telecoms firms. The proposal could transform the American wireless and broadband markets and follows demands by Google and others to ease the domination of large telecoms carriers.
Private equity taxes
The US Treasury said that proposed $6 billion tax increases on private equity funds could damage the economy. Congress wants to more than double the tax on profits of hedge funds and private equity firms and change how their managers are taxed. But a senior Treasury official said: “We must be cautious about making significant changes to tax rules that have worked successfully.
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Bombay dispute
India’s richest man is embroiled in a land dispute that threatens the construction of his $1 billion (£500 million) dream home in Bombay. Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, has started work on a 27-storey skyscraper, 173 metres high, that will include helipads, swimming pools and four floors of gardens, but the state government has condemned the land deal as “illegal”.