What the other papers say this morning – 19 May 2014 May 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Facebook ready to take on Snapchat Facebook is going head to head with rival Snapchat in the video-chat app market as the social networking group scrambles to win back users from the popular ephemeral messaging app. Facebook has been working for several months on the app, known internally as Slingshot, with a simple [...]
Deutsche Bank taps Qataris in €8bn cash call May 19, 2014 DEUTSCHE Bank is planning to raise €8bn (£6.5bn) in new capital, it said last night, with the Qatari royal family already lined up as one of the main investors. The German bank will raise €6.3bn in new equity via a rights issue, and said the remaining €1.75bn had already been placed with an investment vehicle [...]
Bill Gates’ firm Corbis buys UK sports marketer May 19, 2014 CORBIS Entertainment, owned by billionaire Bill Gates, today announced it has bought City-based sports marketing firm WSM Communications, in a deal set to create a sports and entertainment marketing group spread across both sides of the Atlantic. Corbis Entertainment is a division of Corbis, a digital content and entertainment rights company founded by Gates in [...]
Labour plans new low pay rules based on average hourly wages May 19, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will today announce plans to change the way the statutory minimum wage is determined and basing it on average hourly earnings. Miliband says that, if his party gained power, Labour would set the Low Pay Commission a five-year target to increase the rate to a set percentage of median hourly pay. [...]
Siemens readies asset swap bid to keep France sweet on Alstom May 19, 2014 SIEMENS is working on a formal asset-swap offer for Alstom’s power business that could come as early as this week and see France take a stake in a resulting rail-focused French group, sources close to the talks told Reuters yesterday. Alstom is already in talks with US conglomerate General Electric over a €12.35bn (£10bn) bid [...]
High hopes for Modi after landslide victory in India May 19, 2014 INDIA’S prime minister-to-be Narendra Modi spent yesterday huddled in discussions with close aides and advisers, finalising the names of people to join his cabinet and grappling with the crucial decision of who will be his finance minister. Two days after he won a thumping victory in the general election, there was little clarity about who [...]
Clarks shoes making great strides abroad May 19, 2014 BRITISH shoe retailer Clarks has put its best foot forward at home and abroad in the last year, with tie-ups and sales growth in most countries giving its profits a boost. For the year to the end of January, C&J Clark Limited posted £1.54bn in revenues, up 5.5 per cent on the prior year. Pre-tax [...]
Glencore’s plan to appoint new female director comes too late May 19, 2014 GLENCORE Xstrata is set for a shareholder attack at today’s annual meeting, as it remains the only FTSE 100 company without a woman on its board. A number of major institutional investors are expected to oppose the miner trader’s annual report. Earlier this month, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, which represents 60 UK public [...]
Vodafone divi takes payouts to new record May 19, 2014 VODAFONE’S world record dividend payout to investors took global payments to a new high last quarter, as ongoing unrest in Ukraine slashed dividends at Russian firms by more than a half, new research claims. The telecoms giant made a special $26bn (£14.5bn) payment to investors on the back of its Verizon Wireless deal, taking the [...]
Flotation frenzy adds new faces to 2014 Rich List May 19, 2014 THIS year’s swathe of initial public offerings (IPOs) has brought some fresh meat to the Sunday Times Rich List, with the founders of Boohoo.com, AO.com and King all joining the monied pack. AO.com founder John Roberts enters the list at 246th, with a wealth stack of £410m. Boohoo.com founder Mahmud Kamani is a new entry [...]