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It is close to gaining a victory over its rival Unilever in the US ice cream wars

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It is close to gaining a victory over its rival Unilever in the US ice cream wars, following its proposed takeover of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.Analysts said the deal was unlikely to stop Nestl?rom bidding for Hershey, the US chocolate maker. Peter Brabeck, Nestl? chief executive, said Chef America was a "strategically important complement" to its Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine frozen food lines, giving it two out of the three main categories in the booming frozen food market.Nestl?which has struggled to drive top-line growth from its mature chocolate confectionery and instant coffee products, has been bolstering its position in faster-growing US food segments such as pet food and water. Nestl?xtended its leading position in the US frozen foods market yesterday with the $2.6bn (£1.7bn) acquisition of Chef America, a privately-held frozen snack food company. The deal brings the Swiss food giant popular brands such as Hot Pockets and Toaster Melts, which dominate the frozen hand-held food market in the United States.Nestl?efended the purchase price, pointing out that tax benefits reduced the net price to around $2bn. In response to that downgrade, David Prince, the company's finance director, said Cable & Wireless was focused on providing "value added services to our customers from a competitive cost base, while maintaining a very rigorous financial discipline in our capital expenditure and cash flow management".Analysts at Cazenove said yesterday they understood that Mr Prince was keen to ensure the business was run "with the same financial discipline as if it were in debt"..

The Telecoms company Cable & Wireless is expected to scale back its capital expenditure further as part of a wider effort to conserve its cash pile amid continuing tough market conditions. Cable & Wireless, which has £2.6bn of cash, is also thought to be considering a cost-cutting exercise, particularly at its core Global division – something investors and analysts have been pushing for.The company, which had already reduced its capital expenditure budget to £950m for the year, is thought to be planning a significant cut to the £650m allocated to the Global division.The tighter controls come after Monday's downgrade by Moody's of Cable & Wireless' rating to 'A3' from 'A2' due to general concerns over market conditions. I hope my departure will help the League make a fresh start at this crucial time in its history and that it will be a catalyst for a new spirit of co-operation, which is so badly needed at present.". It is a terrific deal for football."Mr Burns said: "The petty backbiting and division into factions demean both the clubs involved and the game in general ... This would harm his main job, chairing Seymour Pierce, a firm of stockbrokers.Mr Harris said: "I don't mind taking responsibility for the court case David and I got it wrong there But with the Sky deal, we had no other choice. He said later that once the meeting started he realised there would be a big time commitment required to see through the necessary reforms in the League's structure.

Mr Harris arrived for the meeting having already spoken about a possible expansion of his role in a radio interview. The Millwall chairman, Theo Paphitis, later said the two men couldn't run a kebab shop. ITV Digital was put into administration earlier this year but the League insisted on taking Carlton and Granada to court, claiming the parent companies had guaranteed the deal The High Court sided with the TV companies The cash shortfall has left many clubs facing bankruptcy. We were paddling upstream." The League had been forced to sell the rights to televise its games to BSkyB for a knock-down price at the beginning of July, after ITV Digital, owned by Carlton and Granada, reneged on a £315m rights deal.

People say we are now rudderless but we were rudderless before, in fact it was probably worse than that. The resignations appeared to leave the league in confusion but angry voices among the clubs welcomed the news.Simon Jordan, chairman of Crystal Palace, said: "This is overdue. He later blamed his resignation on the "petulant, irrational and ill-considered outbursts of a vociferous minority" of club chairmen. They were accused of being incapable of "running a kebab shop" after the collapse of the league's television rights deal. David Burns, the chief executive, had been expected to go but there was shock when Keith Harris, the chairman, also left his post at the end of a meeting of the League's board at a London hotel.Pressure on the management had increased after the defeat last week of its attempt in the High Court to sue the former owners of ITV Digital for £130m owed on its contract to screen matches.Before yesterday's meeting, Mr Harris had suggested not only that he would carry on as chairman, but take on the chief executive role too. The chief executive and the chairman of the Football League resigned yesterday. Cherie Blair was tonight recovering after suffering a miscarriage, Downing Street said. The Prime Minister's wife was taken to hospital after falling ill at Number 10 last night.Mr Blair accompanied her to London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where she underwent an operation before being discharged today.Mrs Blair, who is 47, has four children, Euan, who is 17, 16–year–old Nicky, Kathryn, who is 14, and two–year–old Leo, who was the first baby to live in Downing Street in modern times after his surprise arrival in 2000.The Prime Minister's wife was last seen in public at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games which took place in heavy rain in Manchester on Sunday night.They have delayed the start of their break in France..

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