BT jumps after Ofcom quashes fibre complaint June 19, 2014 OFCOM yesterday cleared BT over claims it had priced its flagship superfast broadband too high, boosting BT’s shares by almost two per cent. TalkTalk had complained that BT was abusing its dominant position in the way it priced its wholesale offering. BT offers its own broadband service to consumers, as well as charging rival operators [...]
Bottom Line: Manny Roman’s empire is taking shape June 19, 2014 When Man Group boss Manny Roman sat atop Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit in 2004 he must have picked up some tips on fund managers’ diversification strategies. Fast forward a decade and it’s clear from yesterday’s takeover of Numeric that the classic don’t-put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket mentality of hedgies has rubbed off on the former Goldman man. Most [...]
Sony boss Kazuo Hirai says sorry but rules out selling entertainment arm June 19, 2014 Sony had no intention of spinning off its more successful entertainment division, chief executive Kazuo Hirai told shareholders at its annual meeting yesterday. Hirai apologised to investors for not meeting shareholder expectations and said he would plough on with restructuring efforts in a bid to return the Japanese electronics firm to profit. The firm forecast [...]
Fidelity joins rush for shares in MySale after rocky market debut June 19, 2014 US fund group Fidelity has snapped up more than six per cent of MySale, the online fashion site backed by Sir Philip Green and Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley. The group, one of the largest mutual fund managers in the world, said it had bought 9.2m shares in MySale after it floated on Tuesday, worth [...]
Virgin Trains awarded more time on West Coast Main line June 19, 2014 Virgin Trains has been handed a contract to run the West Coast Main Line until at least 2017, less than two years after the firm took the government to court to avoid losing the franchise altogether. The Department for Transport said the extension to Virgin Trains’ franchise would bring better Wi-Fi, £20m in station upgrades [...]
Full steam ahead for Go-Ahead’s railway business as revenues rise June 19, 2014 Transport group Go-Ahead said yesterday that profits from its rail operations were set to beat expectations this year, helped by a drop in energy costs. The FTSE 250 firm, whose joint venture Govia runs the Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises, said that the railway business had performed better than expected, though profits were expected [...]
Blackberry’s surprise profit June 19, 2014 SMARTPHONE maker Blackberry yesterday announced a surprise profit, which pushed up its share price by nine per cent. The Canadian firm, which made an $84m loss last year, announced a $23m (£14m) net profit for the first three months of this year. The news came despite a $966m drop in revenue, a 69 per cent [...]
KKR helps First Data to $3.5bn June 19, 2014 PRIVATE equity firm KKR will lead a $3.5bn (£2.05bn) equity injection into First Data to help the group with its multi-billion dollar debt mountain. KKR will inject $1.2bn into the group while $300m will come from existing investors and the rest from new shareholders. KKR took First Data, US-based payments processor, private in 2007 for [...]
Ukrainian upheaval takes heavy toll on JP Morgan’s Russia fund June 19, 2014 JP MORGAN’S listed Russian fund sank to its lowest value for five years at the end of April after unrest in Ukraine cast a pall over Russian companies. JP Morgan Russian Securities Plc, the only UK listed fund investing exclusively in Russia, lost about one third of its value for the six months ending April. [...]
Charles Stanley profits decline June 19, 2014 Charles Stanley’s takeover of Evercore Pan Asset helped lead full year profits to a 33 per cent decline, it said yesterday. The takeover and other hires for regional office plus the expenses for building Charles Stanley Direct led pre-tax profits down by £3m to £6.1m for the year ending March. Charles Stanley, which offers advice [...]