Lord Mandelson criticises Magna takeover
In a surprise development regarding the sale of GM Europe to Canadian group Magna, UK business secretary Lord Mandelson has today written to the European Union Competition Commissioner questioning the use of state aid to finance the offer. The European Union Competition Commissioner has responded with a confirmation that they are already looking into the situation and the contact from Lord Mandelson will have no bearing on the situation whatsoever.
It is no secret that the UK government has been loath to invest financially into the operation despite the fact that the German authorities have promised a €4.5 billion loan for Magna. We can assume from Lord Mandelson's letter to the EU that negotiations between the UK government and the German authorities, and the UK government and Magna have not gone well. This could put at serious risk the future viability of the Vauxhall operation in the UK and put thousands of jobs on the line.
It is unclear why Lord Mandelson has taken this particular path when only a few days ago many people expected face-to-face negotiations between Gordon Brown, Lord Mandelson and representatives from the Magna management. If they were looking to sit down face-to-face today, after Lord Mandelson's letter to the EU, it will be difficult to form a consensus opinion and consensus plans for the future.
Share this..
Related stories
RDR – Will you pay for Financial Advice?
On the 31st December 2012 changes made to advice standards under the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will mean that Independent Financial Advisors (IFA’s) are no longer able to claim commission on leads they generate for companies while offering financial advice to consumers. What this means for consumers is that free financial advice will no longer be available through IFA’s in most situa...
Read MoreBank of England split over quantitative easing
Minutes from the November monetary policy committee meeting show that for the first time since March there were three different voting strategies in place. Some voted for an increase in quantitative easing, one voted for a decrease in quantitative easing and one voted to suspend the program. The majority, seven members, voted for a £25 billion increase which was eventually passed and put into act...
Read MoreCadbury takeover set to become bitter
While privately it is rumoured that many Cadbury directors believe that Kraft foods will not walk away from a potential deal in the short term, the takeover battle between these two giants is set to become bitter over the next few weeks. Today we saw Cadbury's request clarification from banking giant Merrill Lynch which had apparently indicated that the chief executive of Cadbury had suggested tha...
Read MoreIt is fair to pile tax liabilities onto the rich?
While in troubled times each and every government in the UK seems to attack the middle-income and high-income elements of the UK population there is growing concern that this type of move could actually be counter-productive. Even though there is no doubt that the vast majority of people in the UK, including middle-income and high-income families, believe that tax should be levied on a "can pay ba...
Read MoreRyanair to halt expansion programme
Leading budget airline Ryanair has today confirmed plans to refocus the business and potentially deliver increased income to shareholders if a deal to acquire further planes from Boeing is not secured by the end of the year. This would bring to an end years of aggressive growth from the Irish-based company which has taken on and beaten many of its rivals.
Commenting upon the potenti...