MySpace chief steps down February 11, 2010 Owen Van Natta, hired only nine months ago to revitalise struggling online social network MySpace, has stepped down as chief executive, the company announced yesterday. Two MySpace executives, Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, were immediately promoted to co-presidents, effectively replacing him. News Corporation, parent company of The Times, acquired MySpace in 2005 for $580m.
Alcatel-Lucent’s losses widen February 11, 2010 Alcatel-Lucent yesterday posted a wider-than-forecast loss, missed revenue expectations and cut its 2010 operating margin target, buffeted by a tough market for telecommunications gear. Alcatel posted 2009 revenue of €15.16bn (£13.22bn), an adjusted loss of €56m, and a net loss of €524m. Shares plunged at the French-American group that has struggled to compete with larger [...]
PepsiCo gets international profits boost February 11, 2010 PEPSICO yesterday posted a higher quarterly profit that met Wall Street expectations, helped by brisk sales in international markets such as India, while drinks volumes declined in North America. The maker of Pepsi-Cola drinks and Frito-Lay snacks stood by its forecast for earnings growth of 11-13 per cent for the year, and said it still [...]
Media stocks are starting to look very cheap February 11, 2010 A COMMON joke in media circles is that anyone with a pound burning a hole in their pocket can become a newspaper proprietor. Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev picked up the Evening Standard for £1, while it is said that some buyers offered just $1 for BusinessWeek (Bloomberg eventually paid $5m). Of course, these publications were [...]
Renault hit by €3bn loss after crisis year February 11, 2010 FRENCH carmaker Renault posted a wider-than-expected yearly net loss yesterday and fought shy of predicting a profit in 2010, sending its shares down more than five per cent. Renault , maker of the Twingo, Clio and Modus models, expects economic conditions to remain tough in 2010 and sees a 10 per cent drop in the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 11, 2010 HSBC The bank has appointed Chris Barrow as global head of sales for its recently-launched HSBC Prime Services business, targeted at hedge funds and institutional fund managers across Europe and Asia. Barrow joins from Nomura, where he was international head of sales for prime services, and has also worked as head of sales and marketing [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 11, 2010 BHP BILLITON Standard & Poor’s says that BHP’s first-half earnings were stronger than expected, although still 28 per cent lower year-on- year. The broker agrees with the group’s statement that China is key to short-term prospects, and thinks that concerns over monetary tightening are overdone. Maintains its “Buy” recommendation. PUNCH TAVERNS Collins Stewart’s target price [...]
EU seals deal to rescue Greece February 11, 2010 A NUMBER of euro zone officials have sealed a deal to help Greece in its debt crisis, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy has said. The agreement came after a summit between Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and [...]
Sports Direct wins the double February 11, 2010 SPORTS Direct has seen a surge in sales and been cleared by a competition commission investigation. Britain’s largest sports retailer raised its full-year profit guidance after the sales jump for the 13 weeks to 24 January. Retail sales rose 9.4 per cent to £326m – lifting gross profit to £136m. Sports Direct – which is [...]
BT to tackle record £9bn pension fund deficit February 11, 2010 STRONGER third quarter profits at telecoms giant BT were today overshadowed by concerns over its record £9bn pension deficit as it published the results of its long awaited evaluation. The FTSE 100 group said it had agreed a 17-year recovery plan for the scheme under which it will pay £525M a year for the first [...]