After the Nvidelity comes the Huangover. Jensen Huang joins long list who confused boardroom and bedroom
3i bides time in crowded buyout space May 13, 2010 INFRASTRUCTURE investor 3i warned yesterday that competition from rival private equity groups would make asset prices more expensive this year as it looks to make acquisitions. The listed buyout house, which also focuses on growth capital, said it saw “high quality opportunities” for purchases but insisted it would take a cautious approach given recent bidding [...]
BA plans to operate half of its Heathrow flights during strike May 13, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh yesterday condemned the planned three-week strike by cabin crew calling it “entirely disproportionate” while vowing to keep the airline going through out the walk out period. The flag-carrier plans to fly 60,000 customers, or 70 per cent of its flights, during the first of four strike periods, with 60 [...]
Bad bond market conditions delay Towergate refinancing May 13, 2010 TOWERGATE Finance yesterday postponed plans to refinance its debts with a £665m note offer due to the poor condition of the public debt markets. The financial advisory firm, Europe’s largest independently owned insurance intermediary, says that global events, outside of its control, have contributed to the deterioration of the debt markets and subsequently led to [...]
BT will spend an extra £1bn on broadband May 13, 2010 BT WILL plough an extra £1bn into its broadband network as it strives to roll out superfast internet to thousands of new homes. It will also invest heavily in its struggling BT Vision television service, which it hopes can pull off a remarkable turnaround now it can offer Premier League football matches. The news came [...]
Facebook holds meetings with staff over privacy concerns May 13, 2010 FACEBOOK chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and other executives will meet with employees to discuss privacy practices of the world’s largest social networking website, as criticism grows about the way it treats its 400m users’ personal information. Facebook will not make any announcements about privacy changes at the meeting, said a source familiar with the situation [...]
Telco sees green shoots May 13, 2010 BT Group is a huge juggernaut of a company. Former chief executive Ben Verwaayen managed to turn it around, but ran out of steam. It was up to his replacement Ian Livingston, who took the helm in 2008, to get it moving again. If yesterday’s results are anything to go by, he is finally on [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up but VAT alarm raised May 13, 2010 SAINSBURY’S yesterday reported a 17.5 per cent rise in pre-tax profits but warned that a sudden VAT hike from the new government could strangle the high street recovery. The company saw profits of £610m for the year to 20 March – £10m ahead of what was expected by the City. But chief executive Justin King [...]
Thomas Cook suffers £70m blow from ash cloud crisis May 13, 2010 THE chaos to air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud knocked £70m off Thomas Cook’s profits, the company said yesterday. But the travel operator said its first- half loss narrowed despite the setback. Thomas Cook reported a pre-tax loss for the half year to 31 March of £252.2m compared with £309m the year before. [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SAINSBURY’S PERFORMANCE? May 13, 2010 FREDDIE GEORGE | SEYMOUR PIERCE “We maintain our ‘sell’ recommendation on the stock. We are concerned that we will see a return to the worries of 1990 that the food retail market is approaching saturation as we approach a more austere time for consumers. Also the sector is being more competitive.” SAM HART | CHARLES [...]
DSG cashes in on World Cup May 13, 2010 Currys and PC World owner DSG yesterday said TV sales ahead of the football World Cup had fuelled a six per cent rise in group sales in the 28 weeks to 1 May. Europe’s second-biggest electricals retailer faces stiff competition from Best Buy which opened its first UK store this month in Thurrock, Essex. DSG [...]