There is speculation this morning that ExxonMobil has been given the unofficial go-ahead by the Obama government to make a takeover bid for UK oil giant BP. Since the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico the value of BP has fallen by around £120 billion to a relatively low £70 billion which is certainly within the grasp of ExxonMobil. So could BP actually be taken over?
The number of profit warnings issued by UK listed companies fell to its lowest level for seven years in the second quarter of 2010. Between April and June there were only 45 profit warnings as opposed to 53 in the previous three months, but is this a sign that the UK economy is recovering?
Lord Levene, the chairman of Lloyds of London, and Sir David Walker, a prominent figure in the UK financial industry, will be fronting a new UK investment vehicle which will target state-owned banking assets that will be sold off in due course. It is also believed that F&C Asset Management is currently considering an invitation to join the party using the company's financial and banking experience.
Investors in the worldwide stock market appear to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for definitive news on the direction of the worldwide stock market. This comes just months after many investors believed that the worldwide economy had turned the corner and was moving back towards a growth phase. So why have investors suddenly turned negative?
Paul Barrett, a minibus firm owner from County Durham, has been fined £5,000 and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid community work after being found guilty of "shill bidding" on his own eBay auctions. The authorities were alerted to the irregularities, which saw Mr Barrett using two different accounts to push up the price of his auctions, when they received a complaint that he sold a minibus with false low mileage.
Last week's fall in the UK stock market was predominantly a result of a lack of confidence in the banking and mining arenas which are both being impacted by worldwide economic turmoil. Despite the fact that only a few weeks ago it was hoped that the UK, and other leading economies, would pull well away from recession and begin to consolidate for the future, this may not be the case.
A report today has revealed that chief executives at the top 100 listed companies in the UK saw their salaries increase by 5% on average since 2008 despite the fact that earnings per share fell by 1% over the period. This is a perfect example of further problems in the UK investment market where institutional investors are now demanding more accountability as profits continue to fall although executive salaries appear to be on the way up. So what can shareholders do to reverse this trend?
A report by MM&K and Manifest has revealed that the average FTSE 100 company chief executive is still taking away in excess of £3 million a year despite a significant drop in profitability over the last two or three years. This is a perfect reflection of the ongoing battle between institutional shareholders and company directors which has seen the likes of Marks & Spencer and Tesco rebuffed regarding remuneration packages and bonuses.
Over the last few weeks it has become more and more apparent that a small number of extra large companies in the UK FTSE 100 index are having a massive impact upon movements in the stock market. When you consider that the top 10 companies in the FTSE 100 equate to 47% of the value of the index it is easy to see why a collapse in the BP share price for example can have such a major impact upon not only stock market indices but also investor confidence.
This week we saw shareholders from Tesco and Marks & Spencer decide to fight the "large remuneration" packages on offer to company directors. This is just the latest in a long line of friction between institutional shareholders in some of the UK's largest companies and company directors themselves. So will his friction continue into the future?
