AFTER the turmoil caused by the near financial meltdown, investors were able to walk on firmer ground throughout 2010. However, the year was not without setbacks and hurdles, not least for BP and the European economy. Here is a look back at some of the key events of the last year.
l January – The UK barely crawled out of recession in the final three months of 2009 as marginal growth of 0.1% ended a record six straight quarters of decline.
Cadbury’s resistance to a takeover by Kraft Foods melted away after the US giant tabled a higher bid worth £11.9bn. Philadelphia cheese maker Kraft announced the backing of the Cadbury board for a revised 840p per share offer in a move ending the independent history of the British firm dating back to 1824.
The UK’s biggest pet retailer changed hands for an estimated £950m after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Pets at Home from fellow buy-out firm Bridgepoint.
l February – Barclays provoked more bonus fury after about 23,000 investment bankers pocketed an average £191,000 in pay and bonuses as the banking giant surged to record profits of £11.6bn in 2009.
Lloyds Banking Group continued to count the cost of its HBOS takeover after losses hit £6.3bn and it revealed £24bn in bad debts.
Sir Richard Branson and other business leaders warned the UK risked being racked by painful hikes in the cost of food, heating and travel because it is unprepared for surging oil prices.
l March – Alistair Darling drew the battle lines for the general election with a highly political Budget that squeezed the better off while offering help to new homebuyers, the elderly and the young unemployed.
Insurance giant Prudential set its sights on becoming Asia’s largest player after unveiling a takeover deal that will require it to tap shareholders for a record £14bn.
Administrators to rail maintenance firm Jarvis made 1,100 redundancies after admitting it was not possible for the company to continue trading. The York-based group suffered “very considerable reductions” in business since the recession struck and its future was dependent on support from lenders and Network Rail.
l April – Airline and travel stocks suffered turbulence after the travel industry was hit hard by six days of restrictions caused by the Icelandic volcano. Airline experts estimated during the ash cloud crisis that the impact of the eruption was costing the industry £106m to £123m a day.
Eleven workers were missing, presumed dead after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank following an explosion about 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana. The blast was one of the US’s deadliest offshore drilling accidents in 50 years.
Bus and rail firm Arriva agreed a £1.59bn takeover by German operator Deutsche Bahn to create a new European transport giant.
l May – David Cameron’s arrival in Downing Street was met with relief in the City after five days of uncertainty about the shape of a new government, although attention quickly turned to plans for tackling the financial deficit.
Europe’s single currency countries bowed to the inevitable and backed a massive £95bn bail-out for crisis-stricken Greece. The European Union and the IMF also pledged nearly one trillion US dollars to defend the embattled euro.
Supermarket giant Asda snapped up the UK arm of discount retailer Netto in a move set to add another 193 stores to its estate. Asda, owned by US group Wal-Mart, agreed a £778m deal to buy the stores.
l June – Chancellor George Osborne announced a massive £11bn benefits squeeze and a hike in VAT to bring Britain’s record deficit under control.
Shares in beleaguered oil giant BP slumped to a 14-year low amid continued fears of a funding crisis sparked by the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy announced plans to step down in March after 14 years leading Britain’s biggest supermarket. He will be succeeded by international and IT director Philip Clarke, who has worked at Tesco throughout his career, having first started as a part-time assistant in 1974.
l July – BP plunged into the red for the first time in 18 years after it racked up a huge £21bn bill for the Gulf of Mexico spill. The oil giant, which also confirmed the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward, posted a loss of £11bn for the April-June period and announced up to £19.3bn in asset sales in the next 18 months. US citizen Bob Dudley took the helm from Mr Hayward, who said he had been “demonised and vilified” over the disaster.
Vanish-to-Cillit Bang giant Reckitt Benckiser agreed a £2.5bn deal to snap up the consumer goods group behind Durex and Scholl footcare. Anglo-Dutch Reckitt said the takeover of SSL International increased revenues in its health and personal care arm by 36% to £2.8bn.
Marks & Spencer ended months of speculation over its succession plans when it named City banker Robert Swannell as its next chairman in succession to Sir Stuart Rose
l September – HSBC announced a major shake-up sparked by chairman Stephen Green’s decision to join the coalition Government. Chief executive Michael Geoghegan will be replaced by investment head Stuart Gulliver, while Douglas Flint, the bank’s finance director, secured Mr Green’s role.
Business secretary Vince Cable launched a searing attack on the City “spivs and gamblers” who crippled the British economy. Mr Cable condemned the “outrageous” scale of bank bonuses after the credit crunch.
Consumer goods giant Unilever unveiled a deal worth £2.3bn to add VO5 shampoo and Simple soap to its portfolio. Unilever, which owns brands such as Dove, Sunsilk, Pond’s and Vaseline, said the acquisition of Alberto Culver would make it the world leader in hair conditioning and second largest in shampoo.
l October – George Osborne took the axe to the welfare budget, slashing benefit payments by £7bn as he sought to put the nation’s finances on a sound footing. The Chancellor set out plans to cut government spending by £81bn over the next four years, in a settlement he described as “tough but fair”.
Thomas Cook and the Co-op unveiled plans to merge their high street travel businesses in a move expected to cost hundreds of UK jobs.
The UK pub industry was again cleared by competition watchdogs after the Office of Fair Trading stuck by its initial findings last October that there was no evidence that so-called tied prices damage competition.
l November – Britain’s energy giants faced an investigation by the industry watchdog after Ofgem said price hikes had caused suppliers’ profit margins to soar by 38%.
Manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce said it had identified the faulty part behind an engine failure which forced a Qantas A380 superjumbo into an emergency landing.
Farmer and businessman Bernard Matthews, who made a multi-million pound fortune through his vast poultry company and is widely credited with bringing cheap turkey meat to the masses, died at the age of 80.
l December – The City watchdog ruled out action against former bosses at Royal Bank of Scotland after finding no evidence of fraud or dishonest activity in the lead-up to the financial crisis.
Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group announced it will have to write off more of its £26.7bn portfolio of loans in Ireland due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country.
Engineering company Weir was fined £3m by a court for paying illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s regime to secure lucrative contracts.
Virgin Atlantic fuelled speculation it could pursue a merger or tie-up after it said it said it had been contacted by other companies since it appointed Deutsche Bank at the beginning of November to assess the aviation industry and growth opportunities.
