Heineken shares rise as World Cup helps to offset eastern woes August 20, 2014 Shares in Heineken rose nearly seven per cent yesterday after the Dutch brewing giant played down concerns over Russia and delivered better-than-expected beer sales in the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. The company said group beer volumes were up 3.1 per cent in the first six months, thanks in part to the World Cup [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm agrees to pay $896,000 fine August 20, 2014 Berkshire Hathaway yesterday agreed to pay an $896,000 (£540,000) fine to settle a US government allegations that it violated anti-trust rules by failing to report a transaction that boosted its stake in building products company USG Corp. The civil penalty, which requires court approval, settles charges made by the US Department of Justice and Federal [...]
Brazil seeking to stave off slump with £6bn commercial credit August 20, 2014 Brazil’s government yesterday unveiled a flurry of economic measures as the country teetered on the brink of a recession. As a tightly contested presidential election drew closer, the central bank increased the amount of capital available for commercial loans by at least 25bn reals (£6.65bn), the second such move in less than a month. The [...]
Bookie boss in share windfall August 20, 2014 JUST a week after Ladbrokes posted a 50 per cent slump in profit during the first half of 2014, in spite of the World Cup betting, its chief executive Richard Glynn received a £1m share award yesterday based on the bookie’s performance. Glynn, who has struggled to turn around its online offering, is in line [...]
Snapchat eyes self-destructing news business August 20, 2014 Ephemeral photo messaging app Snapchat could soon offer more than just pictures and videos as it is reportedly in talks with a host of media companies and advertisers about offering perishable news and ads to users. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the so-called Snapchat Discovery service will let users read news [...]
Mamas & Papas strikes up talks with landlords to cut rental bill August 20, 2014 Mamas & Papas, the struggling upmarket nursery chain, has hired business advisory firm Deloitte to negotiate a company voluntary agreement (CVA) with landlords as it seeks to shed its onerous leases and turn itself around. Chairman David Scacchetti said its international business was performing well, but conditions on the UK high street were the toughest [...]
Nokia’s Halbherr out of Here as Finnish firm loses key executive August 20, 2014 NOKIA lost a key member of its senior management team yesterday, as the Finnish firm continues to realign its strategy following the €5.44bn (£4.3bn) sale of its mobile phone division to Microsoft. Michael Halbherr, the head of the Nokia’s navigation unit Here, will leave the company on 1 September to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests, [...]
Shazam counts 100m monthly mobile users, 500m app downloads August 20, 2014 Music recognition service Shazam now has more than 100m mobile monthly active users, a 34 per cent jump year-on-year, the London-based tech firm said yesterday. The Shazam app had been downloaded more than 500m times and the company said it was adding users at a rate of 13m per month. “Shazam is evolving from being [...]
Moscow McDonalds shuttered as Russian government intervenes August 20, 2014 THE RUSSIAN government closed down four McDonalds outlets in Moscow yesterday, following a round of sanctions against western agricultural products. The government said that the closures, which included the first McDonalds ever opened in the country, were due to unsanitary conditions discovered by the Russian public health authority. The Russian arm of McDonalds said in [...]
Pets at Home superstore is not at home with Fulham locals August 20, 2014 If you listen carefully, you might be able to hear the sound of champagne corks popping in Fulham. A group of disgruntled residents have had their way in a passionate, albeit brief, catfight with Pets at Home. The retailer had been in talks with the Prince of Wales’ Prince’s Trust charity about taking over [...]