• Adam Crozier still has serious problems to sort
    Thursday, 4th March 2010
    DAVID CROW
    ITV was in a bullish mood yesterday, reporting a return to the black and predicting a revival in the advertising market. Hot shot chief executive-elect Adam Crozier will join from Royal Mail at the... [Read more]

  • Investment banking is star of show
    Friday, 26th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    IT looks like Stephen Hester deserved his £1.6m bonus after all. Yesterday, the bank delivered a stronger-than-expected set of numbers, even if the mainstream media continued to fixate on the... [Read more]
  • Troubled Virgin Media turns the corner at last
    Friday, 26th February 2010
    TELECOMS FILE
    DAVID CROW
    VIRGIN Media is a company with a troubled past. Having posted a full-year loss of £94.4m, it obviously still bears the scars. After 25 years of pain, however, the firm is finally turning a corner.... [Read more]
  • Donations to Tories dwarf Labour
    Thursday, 25th February 2010
    David Cameron’s party raised £11m in the last three months of 2009, compared to Labour on £5m
    ELECTION2010
    THE Tories will fight the next election with a huge war chest of cash, after raking in twice as much as Labour in donations. David Cameron’s party reported donations totalling £10.5m in the last... [Read more]

  • Housebuilders are still a risky bet
    Thursday, 25th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    DURING his election campaign, President Barack Obama told voters that America could “build itself out of recession”. That’s just what the housebuilders are hoping they can do. Barratt Developments... [Read more]
  • Labour’s top brass present united front
    Thursday, 25th February 2010
    ELECTION 2010
    DAVID CROW
    THE high command of the Labour party tried to present a united front yesterday, after Alistair Darling admitted that Number 10 had briefed against him. Gordon Brown “unleashed the forces of hell” on... [Read more]
  • The Walbrook is about to strike gold
    Wednesday, 24th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    FOR those who like playing the waiting game, Minerva is a good bet. As expected, it swung to a profit while its net asset value (NAV) per share also continued to edge up, to 102p in December from 95p... [Read more]
  • Government in bid to stop a tax exodus
    Tuesday, 23rd February 2010
    ELECTION2010
    DAVID CROW
    THE government yesterday moved to reassure multinational firms that there will be no surprise tax changes if Labour wins the next general election, amid growing fears of an exodus of blue-chip firms... [Read more]
  • Shareholders should hold tight
    Tuesday, 23rd February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    TRADING updates don’t get more bullish than this. Associated British Foods yesterday said that first half profit would be “substantially higher” than last year in all divisions, with the exception of... [Read more]
  • Public is still angry at City
    Monday, 22nd February 2010
    POLITICS
    DAVID CROW
    THERE is overwhelming public support for a cap on bankers’ pay and a windfall tax on bonuses, according to a poll. A YouGov poll has found that 76 per cent of people would support a cap on bonuses,... [Read more]
  • It’s time to start bidding up the predator
    Monday, 22nd February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    IT must be awfully hard for VT?Group to fend off Babcock, when it has been in hunter mode itself recently. It has been spinning a takeover of Mouchel with talk of synergies and scale, but balks when... [Read more]
  • Tories under siege as polls show Labour closing gap
    Monday, 22nd February 2010
    Whatever way you look at them, the latest raft of opinion polls make terrible reading for the Torie
    DAVID CROW
    WHAT a difference a couple of months can make. At the start of 2010, the Tories looked unassailable, with a consistent ten point lead in the opinion polls that would have translated into an outright... [Read more]
  • Gordon Brown under pressure after new claims of bullying and violence
    Monday, 22nd February 2010
    ELECTION2010
    DAVID CROW
    GORDON Brown was under pressure yesterday, after it emerged that his violent temper forced cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell to launch an investigation. Whitehall’s most powerful civil servant is... [Read more]
  • Apple leads the way on mobile phone design
    Thursday, 18th February 2010
    TECH FILE
    DAVID CROW
    Apple is casting a long shadow over this year’s Mobile World Congress. The iPhone maker isn’t in attendance – it is far too cool for an annual trade fair – but its name is still on everyone’s lips.... [Read more]
  • Vodafone: Google must be reined in
    Wednesday, 17th February 2010
    TELECOMS
    VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao yesterday called on policymakers to address Google’s dominance in mobile advertising “before it is too late”. He used his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in... [Read more]
  • Branson backs Tory plans to slash spending faster
    Wednesday, 17th February 2010
    ELECTION2010
    DAVID CROW
    SIR RICHARD Branson yesterday said the next government should start cutting the deficit immediately after the election, in comments that appeared to back Tory policy. “The next government, whatever... [Read more]
  • Mobile firms unite to offer apps platform
    Tuesday, 16th February 2010
    TELECOMS
    DAVID CROW
    A GROUP of 24 telecom companies are clubbing together to build a mobile phone application platform in a bid to compete with Apple. The alliance – which includes O2, Orange and Vodafone – is hoping... [Read more]
  • Consumers suffering from hangover
    Friday, 12th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    DURING the great depression, the US government continued prohibition. Too many Americans were drowning their sorrows in booze. If consumers are drinking their way through this recession, they aren’t... [Read more]
  • Media stocks are starting to look very cheap
    Friday, 12th February 2010
    MEDIA FILE
    DAVID CROW
    A COMMON joke in media circles is that anyone with a pound burning a hole in their pocket can become a newspaper proprietor. Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev picked up the Evening Standard for £1,... [Read more]
  • Single stain on spotless results
    Thursday, 11th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    ON the surface, these results are sparkling, as if they’ve been polished up with a can of Reckitt Benckiser’s Brasso. Full year sales are up 18 per cent, pre-tax profit is up 28 per cent and the... [Read more]
  • Autonomy builds a £500m war chest for acquisitions
    Thursday, 11th February 2010
    TECHNOLOGY
    DAVID CROW
    AUTONOMY was back on the acquisition trail yesterday, raising £500m in a convertible bond issue to snap up a target in the US. Chief executive Mike Lynch said: “We’ve got our eye on a couple of... [Read more]
  • Tories accuse Labour of planning £20,000 levy to fund social care
    Thursday, 11th February 2010
    ELECTION2010
    DAVID CROW
    THE Tories yesterday accused Labour of planning a £20,000 “death tax” to fund the care of the elderly. Yesterday morning health secretary Andy Burnham said a compulsory levy on every estate was not... [Read more]
  • Products set to boost ITV
    Wednesday, 10th February 2010
    MEDIA
    David Crow
    EMBATTLED broadcaster ITV could boost its revenues by £50m a year, after the government lifted a ban on product placement. Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw yesterday said commercial broadcasters would... [Read more]
  • Back in the black but doubts remain
    Wednesday, 10th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    UBS might have hauled itself back into the black, but it is not out of the woods yet. It was primarily a reduction in costs that helped the firm post a profit, rather than a dramatic recovery in the... [Read more]
  • Gold mines will glitter in future
    Tuesday, 9th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    RANDGOLD IS LIVING PROOF OF THE OLD ADAGE “ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD”. INVESTORS THAT BOUGHT THE STOCK BACK IN 2006 AT AROUND 1,200P WILL BE OVER-THE-MOON; YESTERDAY IT CLOSED AT 4,480P. ITS... [Read more]
  • Defender of business says a hung parliament would be disastrous
    Monday, 8th February 2010
    Lord Digby Jones warns that higher taxes could cause lasting damage to the British economy
    DAVID CROW
    HE MIGHT have parted company with the CBI four years ago, but Lord Digby Jones is still one of the staunchest defenders of the private sector. When he gives me his business card at the opening of a... [Read more]
  • CPS to decide if it will charge six politicians
    Friday, 5th February 2010
    ELECTION2010
    DAVID CROW
    SEVERAL MPs and members of the House of Lords will today find out whether they are to face criminal charges over their expenses claims. The Crown Prosecution Service, which has been studying the... [Read more]
  • Voser could still win long game
    Friday, 5th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    IF investors were surprised by BP’s sub-par results earlier in the week, they should have been prepared for Royal Dutch Shell’s dismal numbers. Still, the near $1bn net loss at its refining business... [Read more]
  • Italian reservist Colao must hold his nerve
    Friday, 5th February 2010
    TELECOMS FILE
    DAVID CROW
    VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao is a renowned cost cutter, but yesterday’s results were all about the top line. The world’s largest mobile operator by revenues has to prove that it is still a high-... [Read more]
  • Autonomy is upbeat after surge in sales
    Thursday, 4th February 2010
    TECHNOLOGY
    DAVID CROW
    BRITAIN’S biggest software firm took on the doubters yesterday, as it reported a 53 per cent jump in fourth quarter sales. Founder and chief executive Dr Mike Lynch – often dubbed Britain’s Bill... [Read more]
  • Capitalise on the confusion
    Thursday, 4th February 2010
    BOTTOM LINE
    DAVID CROW
    AUTONOMY divides the bulls and the bears more than most companies. In some respects, the bears have a point. There have always been nagging doubts about the firm’s ability to generate cash; the... [Read more]
  • Sky was right to buy ITV stake despite losses
    Friday, 22nd January 2010
    MEDIA FILE
    DAVID CROW
    WHEN BSkyB bought a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV for £940m in 2006, Rupert Murdoch was hailed a genius. For it was Rupert – not son James – who masterminded the move, even if the latter took public... [Read more]
  • Recovery in advertising industry isn’t here yet
    Friday, 15th January 2010
    MEDIA FILE
    DAVID CROW
    MECOM, the European newspaper firm led by former Mirror executive David Montgomery, yesterday said that the decline in its advertising revenues had started to slow. Ad sales in November and December... [Read more]
  • E-book readers, 3D TVs and tablet PCs compete to be top dog of 2010
    Monday, 11th January 2010
    The consumer electronics show in Las Vegas last week set the agenda for technology in 2010
    David Crow
    HYPE and prototypes dominated the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. From the Ford car that lets you send Twitter messages while driving, to the scuba diving mask that can shoot... [Read more]
  • The coup that melted faster than the snow
    Thursday, 7th January 2010
    ELECTION 2010
    DAVID CROW
    TWO former cabinet ministers yesterday called for a secret ballot to decide whether Gordon Brown should lead the Labour party into the general election, although the plot against the Prime Minister... [Read more]