BUDDHA GOES BUST May 20, 2010 THE Buddha Bar has gone into administration. The venue on Victoria Embankment, favoured by stars such as Lady Gaga, hit the buffers after lavish City spending fell off. In better times the bar featured in City A.M’s Bill of the Week when bankers splashed out £13,000 on one meal there in February.
Trafficmaster revenues rise May 20, 2010 Trafficmaster yesterday reported a revenue rise of five per cent from 1 January to the end of April, compared with the same period last year. Business Services revenues were up 18 per cent at the firm which specialises in driving technology including tracking systems. However Consumer Services were 23 per cent down. Chief executive Tony [...]
Shake-up at Arena Leisure May 20, 2010 Racecourse operator Arena Leisure yesterday lined up David Thorpe as its new chairman after Raymond Mould stood down at the company’s AGM. Thorpe, 60, is a former chairman of the Racecourse Association, while Mould is giving way so he can spend more time working at his London & Stamford Property business. Arena, which operates seven [...]
Vodafone pays £1.74bn for Indian 3G May 20, 2010 VODAFONE yesterday paid £1.74bn for a section of the Indian mobile phone spectrum to provide 3G services. The telecoms giant was involved in a fierce bidding war that pushed the price far higher than it hoped to pay. The auction raised a staggering £10.2bn for the Indian government after major players slogged it out to [...]
Technology sector ready for M&A glut May 20, 2010 THE second half of 2010 will see a surge in M&A activity in the technology, media and telecoms sector, with more than 80 per cent of firms planning acquisitions this year. Nearly half of companies expect to secure new bank debt or secure additional support from shareholders, showing an expectation that funding will become more [...]
Strong rebound for HP as it prepares for rush May 20, 2010 HEWLETT-PACKARD (HP) is bracing itself for a surge in demand as the world’s largest tech firm by sales smashed analyst expectations. After strong quarterly results the US computer firm raised its full-year earnings outlook on demand for personal computers and servers as well as a resurgence in its printing business. Analysts say it is well [...]
Pearson to make £99m acquisition May 20, 2010 PEARSON has agreed to buy vocational training provider Melorio for £99.3m in cash. It is the UK media group’s first acquisition since its $2bn (£1.4bn) Interactive Data stake sale. Pearson, the world’s top educational publisher which also owns the Financial Times newspaper and Penguin books, said it agreed with Melorio’s board to offer 225p a [...]
Google catches up with iPhone May 20, 2010 SALES of Google’s Android mobile phone software have overtaken Apple’s iPhone in its native US. The two firms are streaks ahead in the high-end smartphone sector of the market, according to market research company Gartner. But Apple maintained its dominance globally, shifting 3m more units than its deadly rival. First quarter sales of Android phones [...]
Blinkx upbeat as shares surge May 20, 2010 ONLINE video search engine Blinkx narrowed its full-year pre-tax loss as it achieved a spike in traffic. It also saw higher advertising spend as firms such as Microsoft and McDonald’s booked campaigns on its website. Shares in the firm rose 52 per cent and were among the top gainers on the Aim market on yesterday, [...]
London loses competitive edge to rivals May 20, 2010 SINGAPORE and Hong Kong are the most competitive financial centres in the world, according to a highly rated survey released yesterday. Strong demand in Asia boosted these economies to the top two spots in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). They were streaks ahead of the traditional European economies in the survey that analyses how [...]