HP chief may appear in court as Silicon Valley prepares for clash of tech firms November 1, 2010 Jury selection has kicked off in a Silicon Valley legal drama that could make for some of the best theater the technology industry has seen in years. Larry Ellison, the co-founder and chief executive of software company Oracle, has waited two-and-a-half years to bring arch rival SAP to court on allegations that SAP stole Oracle’s [...]
Lords query lack of audit competition November 1, 2010 THE House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee will today question industry representatives on whether lack of competition among auditors could have contributed to the financial crisis. Representatives from RSM Tenon, Grant Thornton, Mazars and BDO will face questions in the afternoon on whether the dominance of the “big four” auditing firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers [...]
Strike threats and decline in mail volumes hit TNT November 1, 2010 SHARES in Dutch postal firm TNT went on a rollercoaster ride yesterday, with stock sinking to a seven-month low after its disappointing third-quarter earnings report before recovering. Pre-tax profit plunged 24 per cent to €108m (£94m), with the firm dragged down by mail, where volumes in the Netherlands declined 7.7 per cent and yields were [...]
UBS Wealth boss McCann sticks to his profits target November 1, 2010 The chief executive of UBS Wealth Management Americas unit is sticking to his target of reaching Sfr1bn (£629m) in profit within the next five years, in spite of depressed markets and a tough recruiting environment. Robert McCann, who set the ambitious target just a few weeks after he arrived at UBS in October last year, [...]
Fresh appetite for mini-metal LME contracts November 1, 2010 Major London Metal Exchange brokers are taking a belated interest in the previously dormant LME mini metal contracts, metals industry sources said yesterday, adding the contracts may yet take off. The news comes ahead of plans by the LME and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to launch copper and zinc cash-settled minis cleared through SGX by [...]
Foreign buyers prop up London property values November 1, 2010 FOREIGN buyers are helping push up house prices in the most affluent areas of central London, according to fresh research. While the value of prime homes in London has fallen one per cent since July, overseas buyers have buoyed prices in areas like Kensington and Chelsea, says agent Knight Frank. Foreign buyers made up 68 [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 1, 2010 CARNIVAL Shore Capital rates the cruise operator a “sell” with a target price of 2,724p. The broker argues that the firm’s share price corresponds to consumer confidence, which continues to soften in the long-term. Profit at the company is also linked to oil prices, with every $10-per-barrel rise knocking 25 cents from earnings per share, [...]
Apple under pressure to make a big money deal November 1, 2010 APPLE has $51bn (£32bn) burning a hole in its very deep pockets. This has led to rumours it is about to buy anything from a small European nation (possibly Belgium) to a terracotta army fashioned in the image of its iconic leader Steve Jobs. Most persistent, though are the whispers that it is fallen Japanese [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 1, 2010 RBC Capital Markets The corporate and investment bank has hired Mark Sartori as head of European trading and sales trading, and Calum MacInnes as head of European sales. Sartori, pictured, was most recently at Macquarie Securities, where he was head of financial institutions. He has also worked at Fox-Pitt Kelton, Cazenove and Credit Suisse. MacInnes [...]
Chrysalis is looking for merger deal November 1, 2010 Independent music firm Chrysalis yesterday made public its intention to find a buyer, pushing its shares up by more than 20 per cent. The company, which owns tracks by artists including Michael Jackson and David Bowie, is also considering merging its operations with a another firm. A company spokesman admitted the firm is “in early [...]