News just leaked is that Mohamed Al Fayed has sold Harrods through Lazarus Investment Bank. The buyer is the Qatari Royal Family. Harrods is considered a great trophy amongst the mega-millionaires in the Middle East and it is thought that it has been sold to another wealthy family. The Harrods store is on... learn more »

This morning, Cadbury’s board has advised shareholders to accept an improved offer from US food company Kraft. The improved offer values Cadbury at £11.5bn, an increase of £1bn from the original offer made last November, and is worth 840 pence per share, with Cadbury shareholders also receiving a 10p dividend. If the deal goes through, shareholders... learn more »

For the first time since the beginning of the credit crunch gold is no longer the safe investment of choice. Prices crashed at the end of this week following a resurgence of the US dollar following positive news about America’s unemployment situation. On Friday 4th December the price gold fell by 5% to $1,161.4 an... learn more »

The Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies have confirmed they will merge to create the UK’s second largest building society. The Yorkshire is currently the second largest and the Chelsea is the fifth largest. The deal would create a society with 2.7 million members, a network of 178 branches and assets of £35bn. The merger still needs to... learn more »

Shares in London, led by the banking sector, fell dramatically today as traders digested the news that government-owned Dubai World has asked for an extension on its debt repayments.  Dubai World has total debts of £35bn, 10% of which was due to be repaid next month. This turn of events places the financial health of Dubai firmly in... learn more »

A Court Ruling has overturned a previous decision to allow the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts. Many people get stung for huge fees and interest rates when they go overdrawn without any agreement in place. The credit crunch and job losses have put many more people... learn more »

Lloyds Banking Group today announced details of what will be the largest ever rights issue, to raise some £13.5bn in new capital from its shareholders. The rights issue is taking place in order to rebuild the group’s balance sheet, replacing capital that has been eroded following the takeover of HBOS, and will result in the group... learn more »

British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia have agreed to merge in a corporate action that is likely to be effective in the 4th quarter of 2010. The merger has not been approved by the European Commission yet. Assuming that the merger will be agreed by shareholders the new company will be the Worlds third largest... learn more »

Kraft, the giant US food company, finally made a hostile takeover for Cadbury just hours before the ‘put up or shut up’ deadline imposed by the Takeover Panel following thier initial approach in September. The bid is on exactly the same terms as their indicative offer – 300p in cash and 0.2589 Kraft shares for each... learn more »