| ABN Amro Is `Disingenuous' on Bidding Talks, TCI Says (Correct)
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- ABN Amro Holding NV's refusal to meet with rival bidders to Barclays Plc before next week is ``disingenuous and disadvantageous for shareholders,'' according to London-based TCI Fund Management LLP. ABN Amro yesterday extended exclusive takeover talks with London-based Barclays for the next three days. The biggest Dutch bank said it will meet with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Santander Central Hispano SA and Fortis ``early next week.'' TCI is urging shareholders to pressure ABN Amro's board at the annual meeting on April 26 to split up the bank. Investors will have to decide whether ABN Amro should become a unit of Britain's third-biggest bank, or be divided between the Scottish, Spanish and Belgian-Dutch companies. ABN Amro shares have risen 33 percent in the past month, valuing the Amsterdam- based company at 69.2 billion euros ($94.1 billion).
Brazil the sole bidder to host 2014 Soccer World Cup
Johannesburg, April 20 (NNN-BUANEWS) Brazil is the sole bidding nation for the right to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, following Colombia's withdrawal from the bidding process. "Brazil is now the only remaining candidate for the right to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup after the Colombian football association officially withdrew its candidature on April 11," FIFA, the world football governing body, said on its official Website. "In a letter addressed to FIFA, Colombian FA president Luis H. Bedoya Giraldo stated that the Colombian FA had decided to withdraw from the bidding procedure. No reason was given for the association's decision." The Brazilian football association visited the FIFA last week and handed over the Bidding Agreement form that needed to be submitted by April 16, 2007, in order for the country's interest in hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be officially confirmed.
Yearly Hopewell auction draws biggest crowd
COSHOCTON - Supporters donated 447 different items to benefit area individuals with disabilities in the fifth annual Hopewell Benefit Auction at Hopewell School, Saturday. "We are very, very thankful for all of the donations we have received and all of our community partners," said Heather Kendall, Hopewell School superintendent. "There are lists and lists of community members that have helped us and we are very, very thankful for that." .
IDOT speeds up I-55 widening plan
The state has sped up the bidding for the widening of Interstate 55, likely ensuring the project will be finished by the fall of 2008. One lane will be added to the expressway in either direction, from Weber Road to Interstate 80. Bidding is now scheduled for June, rather than September, Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey said. "We were a little bit concerned that the work would spill into 2009 if it was going to be let much later in this year," he said. Claffey added the timetable was stepped up at the request of state Rep. Tom Cross (R-Oswego). "This is the first time we've actually had some definition as to time, which we're very pleased about," Cross said. Work is under way to widen seven bridges along I-55 between Weber Road and U.S.
London pre-open: Wall Street record to lift London
LONDON (SHARECAST) - London is expected to start brightly after another record high on Wall Street overnight. The higher offer for Alliance Boots and possibility of a bidding war should also help sentiment. Traders predict Footise will open up at least 20 points. Alliance Boots will be the main interest early on. It has agreed a 10.6bn takeover offer from a pairing of private equity firm KKR and its own deputy chairman Stefano Pessina. The new offer is worth 10.90 a share in cash, up 50p per share from their previous offer of 10.40. The move that may spark a bidding war with a rival consortium led by Terra Firm, newspaper reports this morning suggested. Ad giant WPP's first-quarter like-for-like revenues increased 4.3%, slightly below market forecasts. The firm said there had been some softness in the US in the last few months offset by improvements in Western Europe.
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