A Microsoft and Google tie-up is what the industry needs July 9, 2008 The wrangling between Microsoft and Yahoo is like a farce that refuses to end. After months of on-off negotiations, Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer is once again willing to return to the table, although his rekindled interest comes at a heavy price. Unless Yahoo’s shareholders oust the board, the standoff will continue. Nor is Ballmer [...]
City law firms beat the crunch July 9, 2008 The City’s biggest law firms look set to beat the credit crunch, topping revenues of £1bn last year. All four of the firms that make up the “magic circle” posted earnings over £1bn and showed double digit growth, with Clifford Chance holding the top spot as the world’s largest law firm with revenues of £1.33bn, [...]
What the FSA’s regulations mean for you July 8, 2008 The new rules might be heavy handed, but they could be to your advantage, writes Katie Hope Hot on the heels of the decision by the FSA, the City’s watchdog, to clamp down on investors using contracts for difference (CFDs) to short shares during a rights issue period, it’s now taken another stab at improving [...]
Russia’s Sibir Energy races towards FTSE July 8, 2008 London-listed mid-sized Russian oil company Sibir Energy said yesterday its full-year pre-tax profit trebled to $344m (£172m) due to higher output at its Siberian unit and strong margins from refining and retail. Sibir said its crude oil production rose 80 per cent in the year to 17.8 million barrels. Most of the output, 15.3 million [...]
Financial jobs boom to fade July 8, 2008 City recruiter Michael Page saw its first-half global profits rise 31 per cent but warned the slowdown in UK recruitment looks set to continue. The global firm posted group half year profits of £135.5m, up from £90.4m last year. Its UK division, which contributes a third of the group’s gross profits, delivered a 3.9 per [...]
Satellite firm gets bid from hedge fund July 8, 2008 Shares in satellite communications company Inmarsat rose as much as 13 per cent after confirming it had received an approach from its largest shareholder, US hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. However, it’s unlikely to be a quick sale. Regulatory approval would most likely be needed from both European and American authorities before a firm offer [...]
Fears mount for Bradford & Bingley as shares flop July 8, 2008 Bradford & Bingley’s stock plunged to an all-time low of 42p yesterday – well below its rights issue price of 55p – as concerns over the troubled lender’s future intensified. Fears also increased that the lender would issue another profit warning, due to the deepening crisis in the housing market, when it releases the prospectus [...]
SFO appeals Saudi case July 8, 2008 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday told the House of Lords it did not act unlawfully when it ended its investigation into a £43bn Saudi arms deal. The case against the SFO is being brought by the pressure groups the Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Corner House who say the case should be reopened. [...]
Microsoft in bid to oust Yahoo board July 8, 2008 Steve Ballmer is willing to reconsider an offer for Yahoo – but only if the board goes Software giant Microsoft is willing to reopen talks to buy internet firm Yahoo, it said yesterday – but only if dissident investor Carl Icahn’s attempt to oust the board is successful. Microsoft broke off negotiations to acquire the [...]
Knife murder parents plead with killers July 7, 2008 The parents of one of the two French students murdered in London a week ago in a frenzied knife attack appealed yesterday for the killer to come forward and said they would not rest until the guilty party was found. Bio-engineering students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were bound, gagged and repeatedly stabbed [...]