The Business Matrix: Wednesday 22 April 2015

Goldman Sachs settles baby case

Sonia Pereiro-Mendez, a Goldman Sachs executive who claimed she was treated unfairly after becoming pregnant, has agreed a confidential out-of-court settlement with the bank, just before the case was due to start at an employment tribunal in London yesterday. Goldman Sachs had always denied the allegations.

Teva in $40bn Mylan approach

Israeli generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical has made a $40bn (£26bn) approach for US-listed rival Mylan, calling it a better deal than the smaller rival’s offer to buy Perrigo. The proposal, which would create the world’s largest generic drugs company by sales, comes after weeks of speculation about a bid from Teva.

Shoe Zone choose the wrong boots

Shoe Zone admitted it had been wrong-footed by the trend for ankle boots this year, sending its shares down by 28 per cent to 220p. The group said sales of shoes grew but that the average price was down due to the fashion for ankle rather than knee-high boots, forcing it to “reset expectations” for the year.

Arm’s chips hit 3.8 billion record

Arm Holdings, whose technology helps to power Apple products, said it had made an encouraging start to the year after a record 3.8 billion of its chip designs were shipped in the quarter to 31 March – 900 million more than the same period last year. Profits rose 24 per cent to £120m on a 22 per cent rise in revenues.

German investors see flat growth

German analysts and investors polled by the ZEW think tank are not overly optimistic about the chances of boosting the rate of growth in Europe’s economy next year, when they expect output to rise about 1.8 per cent. ZEW’s index of economic sentiment fell to 53.3 points from 54.8 in March.

Bosses ‘wasting time on admin’

Managers spend an average of 15 hours a week on unnecessary admin tasks, according to a survey of 300 managers by ServiceNow. It found that most spent time on work outside their core job function, with one in five spending up to three days a week on routine administration.

Sales rise has Pets at Home purring

Pets at Home has reported revenues of £729m for the past year after sales rose by nearly 10 per cent. The chain, which has 400 stores across the UK, said food sales outperformed pet accessories. Revenues from services such as dog grooming rose by 25 per cent to £63m.

European market expands 10.8%

PSA Peugeot Citroen has unveiled a 10 per cent rise in European production as returning demand boosts the troubled French car maker a year into a major turnaround plan. Europe’s auto market expanded 10.8 per cent in March compared with a year ago.

Hungary bank rates hit new low

Hungary’s central bank trimmed interest rates to a new low of 1.8 per cent and flagged more cuts, taking advantage of falling prices, a strong forint currency and capital flows into Central Europe’s fast-growing economies.

Lockheed jet sales stutter

The US Pentagon’s top weapons supplier, Lockheed Martin, posted a six per cent fall in quarterly profits to $878m (£588m) partly due to fewer aircraft deliveries. Sales at the maker of the F-35 radar-evading jets fell five per cent to $10bn.