Fri, Sep. 07, 2007 10:15 PM
Lap of luxury
Luxury automakers BMW, Audi and Mercedes on Friday reported healthy sales increases for August. Demand from Asia and the U.S. drove gains amid mixed results in their home markets, the companies said.
BMW AG, the industry’s top luxury car company, said its global sales rose 13 percent last month from a year ago, with 99,755 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce automobiles sold. Audi AG said it sold 66,400 cars worldwide in August, up 4.2 percent from the same month in 2006.
And Chrysler LLC said its Mercedes Car Group saw sales increase 9 percent in August compared with last year, reaching a record 96,200 Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and Smart brands sold.
Borse appeal
Borse Dubai on Friday appealed a regulator’s ruling that it violated Swedish takeover laws in its efforts to acquire Nordic stock exchange operator OMX AB.
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority had stated on Aug. 19 that Borse Dubai had breached the rules by declining to call its Aug. 9 OMX stock purchase announcement a public takeover bid. One week later, the owner of the Dubai stock exchange launched a $4.05 billion bid for OMX, challenging a previous offer by the U.S.-based Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.
Borse Dubai said it “remains of the belief that it acted in good faith and according to applicable Swedish law process,” and was therefore appealing the decision.
Swedes raise rates
Sweden’s central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75 percent and signaled further increases ahead.
The Riksbank said its board also decided that the repo rate — the interest rate received or paid by banks on money deposited in or borrowed from the central bank for seven days — needed to be raised further.
British insurer sold
Private equity firm Advent International Corp. has agreed to buy British insurer Domestic & General Group PLC for about 524 million pounds ($1.06 billion).
Advent had approached Domestic & General in May. The London insurer specializes in extended warranties for electrical appliances and repair protection for central heating systems.
Pirates raise ire
Pirate attacks along Guyana’s rivers and Atlantic coast have prompted the South American country to set up an emergency radio network for boaters and place special markings on engines to track stolen equipment.
Fishermen outraged by more than two dozen raids reported in the past two months met this week with Cabinet ministers and complained that armed sea bandits had stolen catches of fish and shrimp and even small vessels.
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