EC lifts restrictions on Sky Italia July 20, 2010 The European Commission yesterday ruled that the competitive landscape in Italy had changed enough that Italian pay-TV service Sky Italia should be allowed to bid for a digital terrestrial TV frequency, removing a restriction placed on the satellite-TV company since 2003. The ruling came with the condition that Sky Italia, 100 per cent owned by [...]
BANK CHIEF ‘OGRE’ GETS AN IMAGE OVERHAUL July 20, 2010 FAIRFAX chief executive Stefan Allesch-Taylor is on the blower following a story in this column yesterday about the boutique bank scouting around for a new investor – a move which could potentially usurp the big man’s family trust as the firm’s largest shareholder. Not that Allesch-Taylor’s particular beef is with the story itself, mind. He’s [...]
RBS gets trio of bids for WorldPay division July 20, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has received three second round bids for its £2.6bn payment processing business WorldPay. Three private equity vehicles tabled bids before the Monday deadline, according to sources close to the matter. As expected, Advent International and Bain have teamed up, while TPG has also bid and so has Clayton, Dubilier & [...]
Barclays finalises deal to buy Sweden’s Tricorona July 20, 2010 BARCLAYS’ offer for Swedish carbon credits trading firm Tricorona was yesterday declared unconditional, reinforcing the bank’s position as the most active player in the emissions market. Last month, Barclays announced a recommended cash offer, via its TAV subsidiary, of eight Swedish kronor (71p) per share for Tricorona, valuing the firm at 1.13bn kronor, or £100.4m. [...]
Criminal case for ex-SocGen boss dropped July 20, 2010 Jean-Pierre Mustier, Societe Generale’s former head of investment banking, has escaped criminal charges a month after market regulator AMF fined him €100,000 euros (£84,600) for insider trading. The public prosecutor has dropped its probe into alleged insider trading after a preliminary police inquiry, a spokesman for the prosecutor said yesterday. “The probe has been closed, [...]
Job vacancies to outnumber candidates after the summer July 20, 2010 JOB opportunities in the City are set to surge in the second half of the year, with some sectors expecting to have more vacancies than qualified candidates by September, according to several surveys. Financial services firms will have 10.3 jobs to fill per 10 candidates looking for work by the end of the third quarter, [...]
£100m deal for Balfour Beatty July 20, 2010 CONSTRUCTION firm Balfour Beatty has signed a £100m partnership deal with Southampton’s authorities to resurface the city’s roads. Britain’s largest infrastructure group said yesterday the work will commence on 1 October, and will last for 10 years initially with the option of a five-year extension. Balfour Beatty chief executive Ian Tyler said: “We are delighted [...]
Speedy Hire revenue drops July 20, 2010 TOOL hire company Speedy Hire remains cautious ahead of public sector spending cuts, despite announcing revenues were down slightly as expected. The Merseyside-based firm told shareholders at its AGM yesterday that revenue excluding fleet equipment sales was down 0.7 per cent in the three months to 30 June compared to last year. Net debts at [...]
OUTPUT RISES AT FASTEST PACE FOR 15 YEARS July 20, 2010 OUTPUT of UK manufacturing firms rose at the fastest rate for 15 years in the three months to July thanks to stronger demand for UK goods and restocking, the CBI said yesterday. A net 24 per cent of manufacturers reported rising rather than falling output. But firms expect the pace of growth over the next [...]
Borrowing at a record high July 20, 2010 GOVERNMENT borrowing climbed to a record high in June, highlighting the severity of the task facing the coalition government. The public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR) was £20.9bn last month, more than had been forecast and the highest since records began in 1984. Analysts had expected a fall to around £15bn. The public sector net [...]