No review due for BSkyB deal September 16, 2010 THE government has not yet decided whether to refer for review the proposed takeover of pay-TV group BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, it said, responding to a report a review was likely. The BBC said business secretary Vince Cable was likely to ask the media regulator Ofcom to look at the impact of any [...]
BBC scraps TV licence fee rise September 16, 2010 The BBC will freeze the licence fee at £145.50 until 2013, after coming under fire from the Conservatives for what it sees as spending largesse. BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons said yesterday the move to scrap a two per cent annual rise will create a £144m shortfall, adding:?“A freeze in income will not be pain-free, [...]
TITANS OF BUSINESS SET TO CLASH AT GOODWOOD REVIVAL FESTIVAL September 16, 2010 THE LOVE affair between businessmen and their fast cars is certainly alive and kicking. This weekend marks the Goodwood Revival historic motorsport and aviation festival, as over 132,000 attendees prepare to head down to Sussex for two days of immersion in classic cars and planes. And The Capitalist hears that among those competing on the [...]
Centaur profits down 10 per cent but recovery underway September 16, 2010 CENTAUR Media, the specialist magazine publisher behind titles such as The Lawyer and Marketing Week, yesterday reported a 10 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the full-year to 30 June. The publisher said it had been hurt by a fall in advertising revenue but added that it had returned to growth in the second [...]
Plus Markets halves losses over first half amid cost cutting drive September 16, 2010 STOCK exchange group Plus Markets yesterday said it had halved first-half losses since last year under a new management team, which has implemented a strict cost-cutting drive. New chief executive Cyril Théret and chairman Giles Vardey aim to bring Plus into the black within two years via a streamlining process which includes almost halving staff [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 16, 2010 ASHMORE Singer rates the fund manager a “buy” and has upgraded its target price to 360p. The broker says Ashmore has made the most of the financial crisis by buying cheap assets, and that its range of new products will boost the firm. It adds that the firm’s performance fees of £82.9m for the year [...]
Sony set to hit PS3 target September 16, 2010 Sony yesterday said its PS3 game console sales were on track to reach its target of 15m units for the year to March 2011, with sales for the April-September first half likely to be just above forecast. “As of the end of August, sales look a bit better than we expected,” said Kazuo Hirai, president [...]
Resurgence of business demand boosts recovery for London hotels September 16, 2010 A ROBUST recovery in the fortunes of London’s hotel industry is set to continue apace over the next year, according to new research out today. The average room rate at hotels within the capital is set to rise seven per cent in 2010 to £124, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers UK Hotels Forecast, boosted by [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 16, 2010 Oppenheimer Investments Iain Morpeth, one of Clifford Chance’s most senior private equity lawyers, is joining the Swiss project financing adviser as its new chief operating officer, based in London. Morpeth has been at Clifford Chance for the past 23 years and specialises in the real estate sector. His track record includes advising on Meridian Delta [...]
Retail sales slip as spending cuts loom September 16, 2010 Retail sales volumes fell last month for the first time since January, in a sign that consumer demand may be slipping ahead of planned government spending cuts, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes fell 0.5 per cent last month, and revised July’s sales growth down to 0.8 per cent from [...]