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Your support makes all the difference.TeleWest set to raise pounds 375m TeleWest, the cable television company, has confirmed plans to float on the London stock market and the US Nasdaq market within a few months, raising up to pounds 375m. The flotation will involve a fully diluted stake of 18 per cent, valuing the company at up to pounds 1.9bn.
TeleWest is jointly owned by Tele-Communications Inc, one of the biggest cable companies in North America, and by US West, a US regional telephone company. It has appointed Kleinwort Benson and Morgan Stanley to advise.
Shorter audits The Auditing Practices Board said compilation reports for firms with turnover of pounds 90,000 to pounds 350,000 would be much shorter than the audit reports they replace, under recent legislation to reduce the regulatory burden on smaller businesses. The final guidelines come as it emerged that the accountancy profession is considering plans to exempt many small companies from the Accounting Standards Board's requirements.
Insurance jobs axed More than 220 jobs are to go at the insurance company Guardian, the firm said yesterday. This follows the loss of 268 staff in January. The new cuts at Guardian's financial services division, throughout the UK, will be completed by next April. The company cannot rule out sackings, as it continues a programme to cut costs by pounds 14m a year.
Multimedia deal Deutsche Telekom and Microsoft of the US agreed yesterday to forge a strategic partnership in multimedia. The memorandum of understanding foresees worldwide collaboration on development and marketing of a Windows-based platform to be used for teleworking, video-conferencing and on-line information services.
Qantas syndicate Qantas, the Australian airline, appointed a syndicate headed by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and including Barclays to arrange a Adollars 1bn credit facility ahead of its expected flotation early next year.
Wind stake South Wales Electricity bought from National Power a 25 per cent stake in the pounds 11m wind farm, at Bryn Titli, near Rhayader in Powys. National Power retains 60 per cent, with the remaining 15 per cent owned by The Body Shop.
VW sacking Volkswagen yesterday sacked Werner Schmidt, the chief financial officer, who has been held responsible for the big 1993 loss at VW's Spanish subsidiary, Seat, which plunged the entire group into record losses.
WORLD MARKETS New York: Blue chips were weighed down by lingering inflation worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 19.85 points down at 3,891.30.
Tokyo: Stocks took a pounding from arbitrage-related selling. The Nikkei average ended off 92.82 points at 19,899.08.
Hong Kong: Prices fell in light trading. The Hang Seng Index closed 50.19 down at 9,338.59.
Sydney: Shares closed firmer after offshore buying of resource issues. The All Ordinaries Index closed up 18.3 points at 2034.6.
Johannesburg: The overall index was 30 points better at 5,773 and the gold index up 21 at 2,350.
Paris: With the market gloomy over possible higher interest rates, the CAC-40 Index closed down 25.58 at 1,842.09, Frankfurt: Prices were dragged down by weaker bonds and stronger-than-expected M3 growth. The DAX Index closed at 2,022.22, down 47.73.
Zurich: Prices closed lower across the board. The SPI fell 13.88 to to a year's low of 1,664.18.
Milan: Shares closed lower, with heavy selling of Fiat. The Mibtel index fell 105 points to 9,849.
London: Report, page 17.
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