Tata Steel puts UK plants up for sale

Tata, one of the world’s biggest steelmakers, has begun the process of selling its UK plants and invited bidders to make offers.

Tata Steel announced March 30 that it would be putting its loss-making British assets up for sale, after a potent cocktail of oversupply, high costs, weak domestic demand and a volatile currency caused the plants to lose over £1 million per day.

15,000 workers risk losing their jobs if a buyer isn’t found and so far, the only company to have publicly expressed an interest is Liberty Steel, owned by Sanjeev Gupta. Gupta said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that he felt there was “a very clear opportunity to turn things around, make money and create a sustainable business”, but also underlined the fact that he was “not married to it” as the deal was “too big to get wrong.”

Daily Mail in possible bid for Yahoo

The owner of Daily Mail is said to be interested in making a takeover bid for struggling internet company Yahoo, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) have been discussing an offer with private equity firms, after Yahoo’s shareholders added pressure to the company to turn itself around in a letter to the board last month.

A spokesman for Daily Mail said: “Given the success of DailyMail.com and Elite Daily we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders.

“Discussions are at a very early stage and there is no certainty that any transaction will take place.”

DMGT has risen 1 percent on the news.

UK economy flagging in 2016, say BCC

The UK economy dipped in the first quarter of 2016, according to The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey.

The report highlighted a sharp decline in industrial output and a drop in consumer confidence, with most of the key gauges remaining stagnant or falling.

The BCC’s acting director general, Adam Marshall, said: “From sales and orders to confidence and investment intentions, many of the business indicators we track are at a low ebb.” The BCC cited “mounting global and domestic uncertainties” as reasons for the disappointing survey.

11/04/2016
Previous articlePanama Papers: Cameron admits to profiting from offshore trust
Next articleDavid Cameron to announce new tax evasion legislation later today