UK media group may sell Peppa Pig to Nickelodeon October 11, 2010 SHARES in Entertainment One soared yesterday, fuelled by speculation of a deal to screen the hit children’s TV show Peppa Pig on Nickelodeon in the US. Its shares closed up eight per cent at 85.5p, a year high, as investors hoped the firm could replicate Peppa’s smash-hit success in the UK. Chief executive Darren Throop [...]
Strike threat recedes as BA nears union deal October 11, 2010 BRITISH Airways and the union representing its cabin crew are moving closer to a peace deal, with a branch of the union claiming a deal could be reached as early as this week. “We did have talks with BA and conciliation service Acas last Friday, we did make some progress and we hope to reconvene [...]
CBI’s Lambert lashes out at bank bashers October 11, 2010 RICHARD Lambert yesterday used his last speech on banking as CBI director-general to launch a scathing attack on the UK’s culture of political bank-bashing. Lambert, who is due to step down from his position next year, said politicians were “making matters worse” with unrelenting and vicious attacks on the banks, compounding the problem of lack [...]
City sceptical on the prospect of rival offers for PotashCorp October 11, 2010 ANALYSTS yesterday poured scorn on talk of rival white knight offers waiting in the wings to scupper BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£24.5bn) bid for Canadian fertiliser giant PotashCorp. Reports over the weekend suggested both the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund and Chinese state-owned chemicals group Sinochem had already approached Temasek with a view to trying to find [...]
Microsoft unveils 10 new phones as it bids to usurp Apple and RIM October 11, 2010 MICROSOFT has unveiled 10 new Windows Phone 7 powered mobiles as it attempts to catch up with rivals Apple, Google and RIM. Microsoft will supply software to five new HTC phones, two Samsung, two LG and one Dell. The devices will be available with 60 operators in 30 countries. They will hit Europe immediately and [...]
Universities in fees shake-up October 11, 2010 THE long-awaited report from Lord Browne into university tuition fees and student finances will recommend a series of proposals, which aim to ensure those from low income households will still be able to access higher education that is “free at the point of entry”. City A.M. understands the report, which is published today, will include [...]
Schools becoming academies at rate of one a day, says Gove October 11, 2010 STATE schools are converting to academies at a rate of one a day, education secretary Michael Gove said yesterday, as the government’s plan to free headteachers from local government control gathers pace. In total, 121 academies have opened since the election, bringing the total number to 324. A further 90 schools will get academy status [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD UNIVERSITIES BE ALLOWED TO CHARGE WHAT THEY WANT? October 11, 2010 DHUGAL ROBERTSON | AXE “No. If you are going to pay for university, then you should be provided with job opportunities at the end of your degree and not with a load of debt.” GABI MASON | TESTPLANT LTD “University fees should be capped. If they aren’t, we’ll end up with a large division of [...]
Civil servants need to be accountable October 11, 2010 WHAT a surprise. Sir Philip Green has found that the Government is “lamentably bad” at the procurement of goods and services and the management of its property portfolio. The budgets he looked at are worth £191bn in total, and he believes billions could be saved. He argues that the public sector is spending £700m a [...]
Topshop boss finds waste in Whitehall October 11, 2010 THE government is wasting staggering sums of money by failing to take advantage of its size and credit rating to get the best deals from suppliers, Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green said yesterday. Prime Minister David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said it “made for pretty chilling reading”, while ministers said the report showed that [...]