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Business Monthly
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Business News

BA's Walker quits after summer chaos
13 December 2004
One of British Airways' most senior operations directors has quit following the fiasco at Heathrow airport in August which left thousands of passengers stranded.

Navy bid to be announced after Commons recess
13 December 2004
The Government is considering announcing who will oversee the £4bn Royal Navy carrier project after Parliament breaks up on 21 December for Christmas, in a bid to defuse MPs' anger that the work is set to go to KBR, a subsidiary of the controversial US contractor Halliburton.

Crisis warning from Bank as lenders add to risky investments
13 December 2004
UK banks have built up a number of risky investment positions that could trigger a financial crisis if a shock caused a sudden rush to sell up, the Bank of England warned yesterday.

Sanderson prepares for £20.2m market debut
13 December 2004
The software company Sanderson Group is expected to join AIM this week. It has raised £14m by placing 27.7 million shares at 50p a share,giving it a market value of £20.2m.

2004 is year of the deal as bids make comeback
13 December 2004
Merger and acquisition activity posted its long-awaited recovery this year, according to a KPMG survey.

Comment

Stephen King: Threats remain to our economic well-being
13 December 2004
Even the Monetary Policy Committee has been surprised about the persistent absence of inflation

Janet Bush: As the rest of us tighten our belts, Uncle Sam is guzzling our savings to quench his deficit
12 December 2004
Central bankers and finance officials never, knowingly, say anything interesting but their rhetoric on the falling dollar has become unusually fruity as the clash of economic interests intensifies.

Expert View: Europe and the US must unite to stop the dollar rot
12 December 2004
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is complaining about "brutal" and "unwelcome" gains in the euro.

Analysis & Features

The Week Ahead: City looks for cracks in housing data
13 December 2004
A relatively quiet week for company results is clearly a sign that there are only two weeks to go until Christmas.

Small Talk: Winners and losers in the pay league revealed
13 December 2004
Dinkie Heel grows - Generics powers up - Small caps warning - Moore eyes eateries - Sectorguard deal

Business Analysis: Oracle refocuses to give itself an upgrade
12 December 2004
Its attempts to pull off a software industry mega-merger have been a distraction, but the computer giant says it's as innovative as ever, and it has 'three really big ideas' to prove it

Small-Medium Sized Enterprises

Government 'fails entrepreneurs'
13 December 2004
The Government has failed to foster an enterprise culture in Britain, with companies feeling constrained by red tape, taxation and skill shortages, a survey has found.

Red tape may be costing business £30bn - and small companies bear the brunt
03 December 2004
Philip Hampton, the man charged with reducing the regulatory burden on British businesses, yesterday said he could not yet be sure of the cost of complying with red tape.

Why practical experience pays rich dividends
22 November 2004
All the finalists in this year's prestigious MBA Student of the Year awards were over 35. Kathy Harvey looks at why the average age of students is increasing

Citywire

Breaking News: LA Fitness receives offers, Lloyds satisfactory
13 December 2004
LA Fitness receives takeover proposals, Inchcape says full-year profits will be a bit higher than expected and Lloyds TSB reduces the rate of margin erosion.

Honeywell unveils white knight offer for Novar
13 December 2004
Honeywell confirms agreed 185p-a-share, £798 million, counter bid for Novar Novar shareholders entitled to retain 6.

LSE rejects £1.25bn Deutsche offer
13 December 2004
London Stock Exchange rejects as 'undervalued' a 530p-a-share offer from Deutsche Borse but will hold talks with on a possible improved proposal.

Read our Footsie Indicator: modest gains
13 December 2004
Click here to see how spread betters are predicting the FTSE 100 will go when the market opens at 8am.

Monday Papers: banks warned of commercial property risk - other news
13 December 2004
The Bank of England warns banks that their reliance on commercial property may backfire while supermarkets' online activities come under scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading.