WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES POKER PROVES TOUGH GAMBLE FOR 888 888 Holdings took a near 30 per cent hit on poker revenues last year, but the online gambling operator said it was confident of tapping into its well of social players and predicted a return to poker growth in the second half of 2010. Poker was the [...]
Network Rail, British Gas set to strike March 23, 2010 NETWORK Rail and British Gas joined the ranks of British Airways (BA) yesterday after staff at the two companies voted in favour of a strike action. Network Rail sat down with the Rail, Maritime & Transport (RMT) union yesterday to come to an agreement over a proposal by the rail operator to cut 1,500 maintenance [...]
EX-GOLDMAN CHAIR TO HEAD MF GLOBAL March 23, 2010 JON Corzine, a one-time Goldman Sachs chair and former New Jersey governor, was yesterday named as the new chief executive officer of MF Global Holdings, a futures and options broker that has lost money for the last four quarters. MF Global shares soared nine per cent on the news that Corzine, 63, would replace Bernard [...]
Boots refuses to back Hewitt after lobbygate March 23, 2010 ALLIANCE Boots is refusing to back special consultant Patricia Hewitt, after she was sensationally suspended from the Labour Party over the cash for lobbying scandal. A spokesperson for the leading pharmacy chain said her contract was “still in place” and that it was being “reviewed regularly”, but she would not confirm that the former health [...]
L&G looks to new climes as profit returns March 23, 2010 LEGAL & General is casting its eyes to emerging markets for more joint ventures after a forecast-smashing set of final results saw the insurer swing back into the black. The group delighted investors with a surprise 33 per cent boost to its final dividend, which brought the total payout to 3.84p. Higher mortality rates and [...]
Good news, but uncertainties persist March 23, 2010 LEGAL & GENERAL was in a bullish mood yesterday, charging back into the black with a £1.2bn pre-tax profit under IFRS standards thanks to a barnstorming performance at its UK risk business. Worries over capital levels were also eased, after net cash generation rose 118 per cent to £699m, ahead of the £450m target announced [...]
Darling prepares for last throw of the dice March 23, 2010 PUBLIC FINANCES/ECONOMICS l Darling is expected to stand by his growth forecasts of between 1 and 1.5 per cent this for year. In 2011, he expects the economy to grow between 3.25 and 3.75 per cent. Public sector net borrowing will come in around £10bn lower than the chancellor’s £178bn forecast, although it is still [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING FROM THE BUDGET TODAY? March 23, 2010 DAVID TROWBRIDGE | LIQUID CAPITAL “The Budget will be predictable. I’m expecting no surprises, no headlines will be made of it. It is, after all, two months until the general election.” ANDREW TARRY | NYRAS CAPITAL “Alistair Darling will be safe and predictable so that Labour will be re-elected. I don’t expect the market to [...]
Sky worried despite likely revenue boost March 23, 2010 BSkyB could generate additional revenue of more than £700m if it is allowed to sell Premier League football through Freeview. In a move described by Sky as a “sop”, Ofcom is likely to allow the broadcaster to go ahead with a project dreamed up in 2007 codenamed “Picnic”. This would involve setting up a subscription [...]
Volkswagen set to raise £4bn March 23, 2010 GERMAN car giant Volkswagen (VW) is issuing 65m new preferred shares, or roughly half of its authorised capital, in a stock offering worth around £4.04bn. Europe’s largest carmaker said yesterday that the pre-placement of the non-voting stock had already begun for institutional investors. Subscriptions for the new shares are expected to run from 31 March [...]