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A WEEK IN BUSINESS

Saturday 07 October 1995 23:02 BST
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Top of the form

Shares in Alan Sugar's Amstrad computer company rose 4 per cent to 278p after he announced a return to the black with a 1994-5 profit of pounds 3.1m, compared to a loss of nearly pounds 20m a year earlier. The company, he said, is now on the acquisitions trail.

Tail-ender

Eurotunnel, the Channel tunnel operator, announced that another pounds 465m had disappeared into its black hole. Yet the company continued to reject a debt-for-equity swap and its shares defied gravity by rising 0.5p to 92.5p.

Greasy pole (up)

Gerry Robinson has risen to become chairman of Granada. Charles Allen, the head of Granada Television, steps into his chief executive's shoes. The promotions follow the retirement of Alex Bernstein, whose family founded the group 70 years ago.

Greasy pole (down)

An arbitrage trader at Tokai Bank's London branch is reported to have taken a pounds 12m pay cut in line with a fall in the bank's profits. Kaveh Alamouti still made pounds 2.36m last year, it is believed.

Bum deal

Details of the Procter & Gamble suit against Bankers Trust were revealed, alleging that the New York based bank discussed a "rip off factor" while dealing with nine corporate customers, including the consumer products group.

Clinched

Scottish Power won its pounds 1.1bn hostile takeover battle for Manweb after winning the support of 60 per cent of shareholders. It is the third and largest successful bid in the sector.

Jobs lost

Carlsberg-Tetley is cutting 500 jobs at breweries in Warrington, which will close altogether, and Burton. Operations will be moved to Leeds.

Product launch

Talking supermarket displays arrived in Britain to extoll the virtues of cat food. Somerfield stores are using battery-powered computer chips hooked up to hidden speakers to tell shoppers to "indulge your loved one with a can of new Spillers Purrfect".

Whoops

The Manufacturing Science and Finance Union accused the Government of suppressing a report on workplace stress because it quotes research suggesting that working more than 48 hours a week can double the chance of a heart attack.

Under fire

The rescue plan for Lloyd's of London was placed in jeopardy by auditors who fear angry names will "gun" for them if they cannot get compensation from members of the insurance market. Lloyds vowed to go ahead.

M'learned friends

Alliance Resources, the Irish oil exploration company suspended from the London Stock Exchange last month, is suing its former chief executive, John O'Brien, claiming that he used a forged letter to misrepresent the group's interests in a Louisiana oil field.

In the dock

The Serious Fraud Office is trying to track down the owners of Admatec Corporation, registered in the British Virgin Islands, after its collapsed Moneywise Money Plan was exposed as a pounds 1.3m pyramid scheme with up to 3,000 UK victims.

Place your bets

Odds on Norman Lamont, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, winning a seat in parliament at the next general election? Ladbrokes is quoting 3/1.

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