Carl Icahn, who disclosed a $1 billion stake in Apple Inc. (AAPL) in August, said he had dinner with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and “pushed hard” for a $150 billion share buyback. Talks will continue in about three weeks, said Icahn, the billionaire activist investor who has made a career of urging companies to adopt changes to boost the value of shareholdings.
Updated 6 Years ago

Tesco Plc (TSCO), the U.K.’s largest retailer, said first-half earnings declined as European shoppers shunned its supermarkets and the grocer spent more on improving food quality to win back customers at home. So-called trading profit fell 7.6 percent to 1.59 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), Cheshunt, England-based Tesco said today. The median estimate of 13 analysts compiled by Bloomberg was 1.62 billion pounds. Operating profit in Europe slid 68 percent
Updated 6 Years ago

The Vatican’s bank has published its first annual report in its 125-year history as part of an attempt to become more financially transparent. The Institute for Religious Works (IOR) has been dogged by accusations of corruption. The report shows 2012 was a successful year for the bank, with net profits more than quadrupling to 86.6m euros, the BBC reports.
Updated 6 Years ago

The new tariff being levied on non-scheduled commercial operators by the Ministry of Aviation is likely to take a toll on luxury travellers as they will have to pay more for their comfort. Analysts say the new policy may also affect business of scheduled commercial operators as they are likely to regain some premium travellers they have lost to non-scheduled commercial operators.
Updated 6 Years ago

Nigeria double-edged power privatization exercise has received commendation from the government of the United States of America. Carlos Pascual, United States special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs gave the commendation at the just concluded Nigerian Investment summit in New York, describing the exercise as unprecedented.
Updated 6 Years ago

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal says he will not sell any of his shares in microblogging site Twitter when it goes public, and expects the firm's IPO to hit the market later this year or in early 2014. The prince, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and owner of international investment firm Kingdom, invested $300 million in the social media giant in late 2011.
Updated 6 Years ago

Barclays faces a £50 million ($80 million) fine over its 2008 capital raising, as its income sank by £500 million in July and August compared with the same period last year. The investment bank had previously announced negotiations with the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over its £11.8 billion capital raising at the height of the credit crisis. The fundraising with investors in Qatar helped it avoid some of the problems which beset other U.K. banks like Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds during the crisis.
Updated 6 Years ago

Famous Brands a JSE listed retailer, on Monday said it had bought 49 percent of Nigeria’s UAC Restaurants (UACR) for an undisclosed sum. UACR runs the quick service restaurant (QSR) operations in Nigeria and owns the leading Mr Bigg’s restaurants in Africa’s most populous country.
Updated 6 Years ago

The total value of transactions of listed securities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange stood at N1.183tn in the half year report, which ended on June 30, 2013. The amount represents an increase of N673bn or 132 per cent compared to the N510.1bn recorded at the end of the first quarter, ended March 31, 2013.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market, has disclosed that its investigations into the alleged breach of corporate governance by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, is still in progress. Information gathered from a source in the commission Sunday night revealed that SEC is taking all necessary steps to speedily conclude the investigation on the matter.
Updated 6 Years ago