Business and City in Brief
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Your support makes all the difference.Tilcon receives freight grant
Tilcon, the quarrying and construction firm, has been awarded a government grant to keep freight on rail. The company will receive pounds 3.1m to enable it to carry 500,000 tonnes of limestone from its quarry at Swinden in the Yorkshire Dales to Leeds and Hull.
Freight facilities grants are available to firms that can show that, without them, they would have to transfer freight to road.
Cost of policing
Financial regulation - the direct costs of running regulatory organisations - amount to pounds 93m a year, according to a survey by Julian Franks and Stephen Schaefer of the London Business School. Hamish McRae, page 29
Slough rights
Slough Estates has asked its shareholders for pounds 147.3m in a three-for-10 rights issue, at 150p a share. The cash will be used to redeem pounds 150m of convertible bonds issued five years ago, but which are unlikely to convert into shares because of the fall in Slough's price since then. Analysts believe it will be the first in a series of cash-calls by property companies.
View from City Road, page 28
Fleming considers
Fleming Claverhouse, the pounds 95m investment trust, is considering raising new money through an issue of shares. The trust has 16,000 shareholders and invests in UK blue chip companies.
CGIP confirms
CGIP, the French conglomerate, confirmed yesterday that it is part of a consortium negotiating to buy a 25.3 per cent stake in CarnaudMetalbox, the can maker, from MB Caradon, the building materials group.
CIN opposition
Drayton Asia, the investment trust under siege from EFM Dragon Trust, has had to abandon its plans to offer shareholders a return of their cash because of the opposition of CIN, the manager of the British Coal pension funds, which has a 20 per cent stake.
Electric deal
BAA, the airports operator, has sold its electricity distribution networks at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports to London Electricity for pounds 90m. London Electricity will charge BAA an annual fee, initially set at pounds 13.5m, to operate and maintain the systems.
Air inquiry
USAir is co-operating with an investigation by the US Federal Aviation Administration into its maintenance operation. One report suggested that USAir employees allegedly falsified certain jet-repair records at airports in Indianapolis and Charlotte, North Carolina. USAir said none of the irregularities at Indianapolis were related to air safety.
Shipping standard
The Standard, a shipowners' insurance association that covers 5 per cent of the shipping industry, has produced guidelines on minimum operating standards in an attempt to reduce shipping accidents. The standards, which will have to be followed by the 300 companies belonging to the mutual 'club', cover safety policy, maintenance and crewing.
Legal split
(First Edition)
Legal & General is splitting its main UK life and pensions business so that Chris Hatry becomes managing director with responsibility for sales and marketing and Robin Phipps becomes managing director of services.
World Markets
New York: Bargain-hunters moved in after recent losses and had lifted the Dow Jones Average 15.94 points to 3,461.32 by the close. However, the volume of trading was moderate.
Paris: Share prices ended sharply higher amid speculation that the next French government, expected to be named next week, will be able to accelerate the trend towards lower European interest rates. The CAC-40 index closed 46.79 points higher at 2,001.36.
Amsterdam: Shares drifted all day in thin trade. The EOE index closed at 313.74, down 0.38.
Milan: The MIB index rose 0.35 per cent to 1,078 in dull trade.
Frankfurt: The DAX index slipped 2.3 points to 1,657.15.
Tokyo: Stocks surged on index- linked buying. The Nikkei average climbed 314.23 points to close at 18,764.92.
Sydney: The All Ordinaries index ended 2.4 points down at 1660.7.
Hong Kong: Shares firmed, pushing the Hang Seng index to 6,246.97, up 34.78 points.
Singapore: Market closed.
London: Report, page 28.
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