A round-up of today's other news stories in brief
Akzo Nobel raises bid for ICI to £8bn
Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel has won access to ICI's books after raising its indicative bid to £8.0 billion (€11.77 billion).
The two firms said yesterday that Akzo, which has teamed up with German consumer goods firm Henkel for the bid, was now offering 670p a share in cash, up 3 per cent from the 650p a share rejected last week.
Buying ICI would strengthen Akzo's leading position in the world's $85-billion-a-year coatings industry, giving it a market share of about 15 per cent and increasing its exposure in North America and emerging markets. - (Reuters)
EMI hit by poor CD-based sales
Music label EMI, home to stars such as Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, reported a 19.8 per cent drop in revenues from CD-based sales in the three months to the end of June, as digital downloading continued to steal market share.
The group, which is currently being taken over by financier Guy Hands in a £2.4 billion (€3.53 billion) deal, said the continued tough conditions in the music market meant overall revenues for the division fell by 13.4 per cent.
A stronger performance in its music publishing arm, which saw revenues rise by 11.9 per cent, failed to lift overall figures, down 5.1 per cent over the past four months. - (PA)
Nokia looks to Microsoft
Mobile phone giant Nokia will start to use Microsoft's copy protection software to boost the use of wireless entertainment, such as music and videos.
Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, will licence Microsoft's PlayReady digital rights management technology, and build it into its S60 software, the most widely used software platform in cellphone industry. - (Reuters)
PCs now 'must have' devices
Market research firm Gartner has said that PC shipments in western Europe totalled 11.2 million units in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 9.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2006.
It said demand for notebooks and other mobile computers remained the major driver of PC sales, as the consumer mobile PC changed from being a "nice-to-have" device to a "must-have device".
Munich raises earnings target
Munich Re raised its 2007 earnings target yesterday on the back of lower taxes and said its cautious investing largely insulated it from problems in the US subprime mortgage market.
The world's second-biggest reinsurer said it expects net profit of €3.5 to €3.8 billion this year, up from its previous forecast of €3.0-€3.2 billion, helped by a €400 million windfall from a German tax reform. - (Reuters)
Setback for Novartis in India
An Indian court has rejected a challenge by Novartis to Indian law that denies patents for minor improvements to known drugs, and the Swiss drug giant said it was unlikely to appeal.
The closely watched case in the Madras High Court had become a key battle in the long-running war between multinational drug firms and humanitarian campaigners, who say "big pharma" is putting patents ahead of patients.
Novartis said the ruling would "have long-term negative consequences for research and development into better medicines for patients in India and abroad". - (Reuters)
