MONDAY
BP is accused of making an unethical inducement to settle a personal injury lawsuit, after the oil group’s attorney offered to make a $10 million (£5.2 million) donation to a church ministry supported by a lawyer acting for victims of the Texas City refinery fire. The head of Airbus’s A380 superjumbo programme is ousted, as Christian Streiff, the new chief executive, attempts to stamp his authority on the aircraft manufacturer. The removal of Charles Champion had been widely expected after the announcement in June of delays to the A380 programme. Wagamama, the Japanese noodle restaurant chain, is to open a restaurant in the historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, it emerges, as the launch pad for an assault on the American dining market.
TUESDAY
Vodafone, the mobile phone group, lines up an heir to Arun Sarin, its beleaguered chief executive, with the appointment of Vittorio Colao, a highly regarded Italian, as his deputy. Signor Colao is handed the job of running Vodafone’s European operations — 80 per cent of the business — and given the title deputy chief executive. William Clay Ford Jr bows to shareholder pressure and relinquishes his role as chief executive of Ford, the ailing motor company set up by his great-grandfather. John Hargreaves, the founder and chairman of Matalan, comes under pressure to offer at least 200p a share for the low-cost retailer, after the company stems a sales slide. A sharp slowdown in the services sector last month boosts hopes that interest rates may not have to rise farther, if at all.
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WEDNESDAY
The California attorney-general is investigating allegations that Hewlett-Packard wrongfully obtained the telephone and e-mail records of some of its board members as part of an inquiry into leaks to the media, it emerges. The company hired private investigators to find out who was telling the media about secret board meetings, after it ousted Carly Fiorina as chief executive last year. HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, is targeting cash-strapped first-time buyers who cannot afford a home of their own with deals that allow up to four borrowers to club together on their mortgage. Gondola Holdings, the Pizza Express owner, looks set to return to private ownership less than a year after it floated, after receiving a 415p a share bid approach, thought to be backed by private equity.
THURSDAY
A fresh shudder runs through the online gambling sector after the arrest of Peter Dicks, chairman of Sportingbet, by American authorities on a charge of being involved in an illegal internet gambling operation. Mr Dicks was detained at New York’s JFK airport by the Police Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on a warrant issued by the Louisiana State Police. Stanley Fink announces plans to retire as chief executive of Man Group, prompting speculation that the move could facilitate a demerger of the hedge funds group. Stanley Leisure, Britain’s biggest casino operator, is poised to recommend a takeover bid from Genting International, the Malaysian gaming company, which is worth between 850p and 880p a share. Genting is Stanley’s biggest shareholder with 20 per cent.
WINNER OF THE WEEK
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Alan Mulally, a vice-president of Boeing, was rewarded with the chief executive’s job at Ford, after William Clay Ford Jr bowed to shareholder pressure and relinquished his role as head of the carmaker. Mr Mulally, 61, who was passed over for the top job at Boeing last summer, is a renowned cost-cutter. He joined the aircraft maker in 1969.