It may have been the most humble – and most humiliating – day of Rupert Murdoch’s life, but don’t write off News Corporation as quickly as his media rivals are doing. Companies regularly run into corporate crises and recover after a dose of kitchen-sinking, some grovelling apologies and a grilling by grandstanding politicians.
(more…)

Who would close a market-leading profitable brand? Well Rupert Murdoch is not the first. Look what HSBC did with Midland Bank or Santander did with Abbey National.
(more…)

How do you deal with a 75 year-old dictator like Fifa’s Sepp Blatter? Bring in an 88 year-old like Henry Kissinger. There’s certainly no point expecting Coca-Cola to ruin its 125th birthday by sorting out football’s fiasco.
(more…)

GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s (LON:GSK) decision to pay the university fees of up to 100 students looks generous – even politically controversial – but it risks being inflationary. The more easily colleges can recover their charges from future employers rather than future employees, the more readily they will raise rates.
(more…)

Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury has generated more than enough heat to melt a chocolate bar but the surprise should be that more US companies are not bidding for British businesses. There may never be a better time for American bidders to pick up cheap UK companies.
(more…)

The one company Labour’s proposed “Cadbury Law” would not have protected was Cadbury. Despite the French protection of their yoghurt industry, saving a chocolate company cannot be considered to be in the national interest.
(more…)

Profits warnings are common during recessions but the oddest seen so far comes from Goldshield Group. The new owner has looked at the books and said that for several years the pills company’s profits may have been understated. Yes, understated.
(more…)

So now we know the price of principles. Less than 10 per cent. For an extra  £1bn from Kraft Foods, Cadbury’s (LON:CBRY) directors have melted like Dairy Milk on a warm day and crumbled like a Flake bar.
(more…)

What would the gurus at Accenture (NYSE:ACN) say about Tiger Woods’ predicament following his early morning car crash? The golfer has been the face of the management consultancy since 2003 and the mystery over the collision risks affecting his commercial earnings as well as his playing career.
(more…)

Now that Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) has made its hostile bid for Cadbury it is worth remembering what a hostile takeover offer is. It is one that the directors reject – not necessarily one the shareholders oppose.
(more…)