Arrest over McGurk's bar atrocity
A 69-year-old man is arrested over a pub bombing in which 15 people were murdered during the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
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Wednesday, 30 April 2014
[RSS] BBC News - UK / Arrest over McGurk's bar atrocity
[RSS] BBC News - UK / Fatal house blaze inquiry under way
Fatal house blaze inquiry under way
Investigations begin into a house fire in Leeds which left two people dead.
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[RSS] BBC News - Politics / UK firms use 1.4m zero-hour contracts
UK firms use 1.4m zero-hour contracts
Nearly half of big companies in the UK use a total of 1.4 million zero-hours contracts, a study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Hodgson to name squad on 12 May
Hodgson to name squad on 12 May
England coach Roy Hodgson will announce his squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on Monday 12 May.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / AstraZeneca and UK prosperity
Barely a day goes by at the moment when a big British company isn't flogging a big asset or isn't on the end of a takeover bid; and banker chums tell me the "deal flow" (dread phrase for takeovers of companies) looks set to be strong.
The explanation is psychological. The economy is recovering. There hasn't been a big economic whoopsy since the eurozone's banks almost went splat two years ago. And most substantial companies accumulated mountains of low-yielding cash in the years of the Great Recession.
When it comes to investing and buying businesses, companies aren't a good deal more sophisticated than sheep: when they sense the big bad wolf of recession or crisis is over the hill, they all rush in a herd to spend.
Which raises that hoary issue once again of whether companies buying other companies is a good or bad thing, for investors and the wider economy.
There is so much empirical evidence that takeovers regularly damage shareholders' wealth, and yet the bids-and-deals game goes on and on, that it is probably fatuous to expect the owners to exercise caution, and block deals.
As for the economic impact, well it is not cut and dry. Many of the UK's more successful industrial competitors, including the US, see politicians intervene to block or amend deals for national strategic reasons in a way that almost never happens here.
Which begs two questions.
First, whether the government should intervene to frustrate takeovers in a way that hasn't been fashionable for decades.
Or whether the boards of companies in receipt of takeover offers should explicitly take into consideration more than the price being proffered.
In the UK, this is once again a semi-urgent issue, following the announcement that the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer wants to buy AstraZeneca.
This transaction is particularly resonant because AstraZeneca has great intellectual property, it employs significant numbers of scientists and brainy researchers in the UK, and it has important links to top British universities.
The legitimate fear would be that - whatever promises and undertakings are given by Pfizer - over time the deal would hollow out an industrial sector important to British prosperity.
The noises from government are that ministers understand this concern.
But the British industrial convention of the past 30 years is that everything is for sale - and that the UK attracts much more inward investment than other comparable rich countries because it rarely frustrates the operation of the market.
And even if ministers wanted to block the deal, it is not clear they could, on the basis of current competition law.
So what about the directors of AstraZeneca?
The point is that since the great Crash of 2008, caused in large part by short-term, financially driven deal-doing by reckless banks, most big companies have talked the talk that short-term profits and the short-term share price isn't everything.
They all make a big deal of their responsibilities to employees, to customers and to the local and wider communities.
So could AstraZeneca's board cite the interests of these other interested parties or stakeholders to reject Pfizer's offer? Err no. Its primary and overwhelming responsibility is to its owners, the shareholders.
But they could perhaps discuss the effect of the deal on the UK's economic prospects in a full and frank way, so that - if they think the effect would be negative - the public and politicians would know what is genuinely at stake.
If they did not believe there would be a cost to the UK, that would be worth knowing too, of course.
Opening up in this way would be a scary prospect for most boards. Most company directors hate engaging in that kind of public debate.
That said, if they don't do it willingly, there is a strong likelihood they will be compelled to give their views, by MPs on one of a number of relevant select committees.
One other thing.
In my too-long experience, bankers, brokers and public-relations advisers working for a target company always want the deal to happen - and that all they are really striving to do, underneath the rhetoric of "defending" the company, is to secure the highest price in an auction.
That is unsurprising, given that typically they receive more millions for their services if the takeover happens above a threshold price set by the board, than if it is not completed.
Which, given the powerful influence of these advisers, on the opinion of investors, media and politicians, means the probability of the deal collapsing is minimal.
Some might therefore argue that advisers should be rewarded for the quality of their advice, not for the outcome.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Thorpe out of hospital after infection
Thorpe out of hospital after infection
Five-time Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe is released from hospital after recovering from a shoulder infection.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / IMF: Russia experiencing recession
IMF: Russia experiencing recession
Russia is "experiencing recession now" because of economic damage caused by the crisis in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Taxi firm rejects Tory donor claims
Taxi firm rejects Tory donor claims
Cab company Addison Lee denies seeking to influence regulatory changes by donating money to the Conservatives.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Venezuela raises minimum wage by 30%
Venezuela raises minimum wage by 30%
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announces a raise in the minimum wage and pensions of 30% ahead of the May Day celebrations.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Afghans 'repel big attack on base'
Afghans 'repel big attack on base'
Afghan forces backed by Nato air power repel an assault by more than 300 militants on an army base close to the Pakistani border, officials say.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / VIDEO: Execution 'horribly botched' - attorney
VIDEO: Execution 'horribly botched' - attorney
Madeline Cohen reacts to the news that a death row inmate in Oklahoma died of a heart attack after his execution was "botched".
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / AUDIO: Call for action on abducted girls
AUDIO: Call for action on abducted girls
The Nigerian government has been criticised for not doing enough to find and release some 190 schoolgirls abducted by militants two weeks ago.
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[RSS] BBC News - Business / IMF: Russia experiencing recession
IMF: Russia experiencing recession
Russia is "experiencing recession now" because of economic damage caused by the crisis in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.
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[RSS] BBC News - Politics / AUDIO: Blunkett calls for school changes
AUDIO: Blunkett calls for school changes
Labour's David Blunkett proposes the introduction of local "Directors of School Standards" to monitor schools.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / UK firms use 1.4m zero-hour contracts
UK firms use 1.4m zero-hour contracts
Nearly half of big companies in the UK use a total of 1.4 million zero-hours contracts, a study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.
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[RSS] BBC News - Business / Weak yen hits Japan Airlines profit
Weak yen hits Japan Airlines profit
Japan Airlines reports a dip in full-year profits, which it says is mainly due to the weaker yen pushing up costs.
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[RSS] The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News / Ukraine On Full Combat Alert Over 'Invasion'
Ukraine On Full Combat Alert Over 'Invasion'
President Oleksandr Turchynov warns ministers: "The threat of Russia starting a war against mainland Ukraine is real."
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Mourinho attacks critics of style
Mourinho attacks critics of style
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho criticises "philosophers" who have questioned his side's tactics in recent matches.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Prince Harry and Cressida split up
Prince Harry and Cressida split up
Prince Harry and his girlfriend Cressida Bonas have broken up after two years together, with the split said to be "amicable".
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Co-op report blames Britannia deal
Co-op report blames Britannia deal
The Co-operative Bank's merger with the Britannia building society in 2009 should never have happened, a major review of the organisation has concluded.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Europe rejects UK financial tax case
Europe rejects UK financial tax case
Europe's top court rejects the UK's challenge to an EU financial transactions tax (FTT), which ministers have said will hurt British firms and savers.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Tottenham deny De Boer approach
Tottenham deny De Boer approach
Tottenham say it is "wholly inaccurate" that they have contacted Ajax over the availability of coach Frank de Boer.
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[RSS] BBC News - UK / Ronaldo breaks Messi goals record
Ronaldo breaks Messi goals record
Cristiano Ronaldo claims the record for the most goals in a Champions League campaign in Real Madrid's victory over Bayern.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Russia Fears Put Ukraine On 'Full Combat Alert'
Russia Fears Put Ukraine On 'Full Combat Alert'
Ukraine's military is "on full combat alert" over a possible invasion by Russian troops massed on the border, Kiev's acting leader has said.
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[RSS] RSSMix.com Mix ID 3821775 / Selby through to World semi-final
Selby through to World semi-final
Mark Selby beats Alan McManus to become the first player to reach the 2014 World Championship snooker semi-finals.
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