Mobile firms unite to offer apps platform February 15, 2010 A GROUP of 24 telecom companies are clubbing together to build a mobile phone application platform in a bid to compete with Apple. The alliance – which includes O2, Orange and Vodafone – is hoping that its combined customer base of 3bn will allow it to steal market share from Apple’s App Store. Mobile applications [...]
Microsoft to launch new mobile service February 15, 2010 MICROSOFT boss Steve Ballmer yesterday unveiled Windows Phone 7 as the latest weapon in his fight against Google and Apple. The much-anticipated mobile operating system will start appearing on handsets in the second half of 2010, Ballmer said at Mobile World Congress, the industry’s annual trade fair. He added: “Windows Phone 7 marks a turning [...]
Accounting body sets out policy stance February 15, 2010 The world’s leading accounting standards setter yesterday bolstered its defences from political pressure and reinforced its role as an independent guide to investors rather than a tool for policymakers. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) sets accounting principles that are effectively law in over 100 countries but has been criticised for being aloof and slow [...]
BA shares surge on AA ruling February 15, 2010 SHARES in British Airways yesterday surged after the lucrative tie-up between the struggling carrier and potential partner American Airlines moved a step closer. The US Department of Transportation (DoT) proposed granting the Oneworld alliance immunity from anti-trust competition laws. It says the move would enhance competition within the airline industry where the SkyTeam alliance and [...]
Promethean confident of successful £500m listing February 15, 2010 EDUCATION technology company Promethean is confident of its ability to list at a market value of up to £500m in March despite a spate of aborted initial public offerings (IPOs). Research analysts from Gleacher Shacklock, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Cazenove began knocking on potential investors’ doors yesterday before the prospectus is published and bookbuilding begins [...]
Belgian train crash kills 18 commuters February 15, 2010 TRAINS between London and Brussels will remain suspended today, Eurostar said yesterday as an inquiry into a crash that killed at least 18 got underway. Some estimates have put the death toll from the head-on smash – which occurred ten miles south of the Belgian capital during morning rush-hour – at 25, with more than [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 15, 2010 HSBC Private Bank Bassem Snaije has been appointed as head of the London-based Middle East and North Africa (MENA) team at the private bank. Snaije joins from Cosmos Advisors and Pegase Partners Group in Paris, where he was a partner advising on private equity, real estate and M&A deals in the Middle East. He also [...]
Finance firms set to recruit as slump ends February 15, 2010 THE UK’s finance and accountancy sectors are once again recruiting much-needed talent as they shun recruitment freezes and pay cuts that marked 2009, according to a report by recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark. According to the study, more than 20 per cent of the employers said they lacked the accounting and finance skills needed to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 15, 2010 INFORMA Informa’s resilience through the recession has driven Collins Stewart’s “buy”recommendation. “A strong entrepreneurial culture and tight focus on costs helped eliminate the effects of operational gearing in 2009, with margins set to rise to record levels,” it says. But its Achilles heel is its balance sheet, it warns. SPEEDY HIRE Panmure has issued a [...]
EMIS in £50m flotation on Aim February 15, 2010 Healthcare software supplier EMIS Group yesterday launched a £50m initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), to fund a growth drive at the company. The deal, arranged by Evolution Securities, is expected to kick off bookbuilding towards the end of the month.