News Corp denies plans to offload troubled MySpace July 8, 2010 NEWS Corp has denied suggestions it is trying to offload its $580m (£383m) social network MySpace. The firm’s digital chief Jonathan Miller said there have been no discussions to sell the site, claiming reports to the contrary were “fabrications”. He said: “We are definitely not in any ongoing talks for a sale of MySpace.” Miller [...]
Phorm issues £2m of new shares for expansion in Brazil and China July 8, 2010 Personalised advertising firm Phorm yesterday announced it will issue 1m new shares to institutional investors to provide a £2m war-chest for its push into Brazil and China. The share placing was made by Mirabaud Securities. Advising on the placement – which will amount to 6.4 per cent of all shares after the issue – was [...]
More job cuts at Microsoft July 8, 2010 Microsoft is set to lay off more staff just days after humiliatingly laying to rest its Kin phone. The software giant plans to cut more jobs as early as this week. The losses will be on top of 5,000 announced last year. Sources close to the company say only a small number of jobs will [...]
Apple Mac sales rise 37 per cent July 8, 2010 New research shows sales of Apple’s Mac computers have been buoyed by the release of the iPad and a new version of its iPhone. Some analysts had speculated the devices could cannibalise Apple’s existing product range but sales in the US of its laptop and desktop computers are up 37 per cent year-on-year for the [...]
Hays has seen City jobs rise since Easter July 8, 2010 PRIVATE sector growth is offsetting cuts to public sector jobs, according to recruitment giant Hays, though fees earned in the UK fell six per cent in the last three months to to 30 June. The firm said the private sector had seen a 10 per cent growth in net fees since the last quarter, with [...]
Maersk lifts 2010 guidance July 8, 2010 DANISH group Moller-Maersk upgraded its earnings guidance for the full-year, yesterday saying its container shipping business had rebounded faster than expected. “The upgrade is due to a combination of (freight) rates and cost reductions,” chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said. “We have taken $3bn out of the cost base on an annual basis, and that [...]
HSBC runs the rule over potential Nedbank deal July 8, 2010 HSBC is mulling the strategic sense of making a bid for South Africa’s Nedbank, majority owned by insurance group Old Mutual, it emerged yesterday. HSBC has appointed investment bank Lazard to advise on a possible takeover, Sky News reported. The emerging markets-focused group is likely to have to stump up several billions of pounds to [...]
Babcock to benefit from budget cuts July 8, 2010 DEFENCE services group Babcock International Group yesterday said it had started the 2010/11 fiscal year well and expected outsourcing opportunities to increase as Britain looks to cut its budget deficit. Babcock, which maintains Royal Navy submarines, said it had a healthy bid pipeline and its order book had remained stable at £8.3bn. “As the government [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW IS HAYS COPING WITH THE CHANGES IN THE JOBS MARKET? July 8, 2010 DAVID O’BRIEN | ALTIUM SECURITIES “The downturn in the public sector continues to offset improvements within the private sector. Cash flow remains strong, with the level of nebt debt ahead of our estimates (although our forecast included the recent OFT fine). We have not changed our estimates, target price or ‘hold’ recommendation.” CAROLINE DE LA [...]
Bidders begin to circle ING’s coveted property investment management unit July 8, 2010 ING Group may need to break up its world-leading real estate investment management unit to conclude a timely sale, with its bankers understood to have begun flushing out prospective buyers. Morgan Stanley is thought to have received a slew of expressions of interest to take over ING Real Estate Investment Management, just weeks after the [...]