Shares in ITV jump after ad rule change March 29, 2010 ITV shares leapt almost five per cent on news the channel could be allowed to restrict the amount of adverts it shows, potentially pushing up prices. The move is part of a shake-up of broadcasting rules being undertaken by regulator Ofcom. It is designed to help broadcasters hit by a fragmentation in the TV ad [...]
Land Securities chair to take on new Barclays role March 29, 2010 LAND Securities chairman Alison Carnwath yesterday added another string to her boardroom bow as she signalled her intention to take up a non-executive directorship at Barclays in August. Carnwath’s new Barclays role will fill the gap left by her chairmanship of futures broker MF Global, a role she will hand over to ex-Goldman Sachs chief [...]
Banks face refinancing challenges March 29, 2010 BANKS in the UK face a major challenge in refinancing over £300bn of government funding in the next two to three years, the Fitch credit ratings agency said in a report yesterday. Fitch said 2010 might see positive earnings signs within the major UK banks’ domestic retail and commercial banking divisions, but warned any recovery [...]
City: MPs’ call for reform to banks is behind curve March 29, 2010 THE City accused politicians of remaining stuck in the “hysterical” phase of reaction to the financial crisis yesterday after MPs called for radical reform of the banking system. The Treasury Select Committee urged the government not to rule out breaking up systemically important banks, arguing the debate should be kept “as wide as possible” to protect [...]
RBS sells non-core asset to GE March 29, 2010 THE Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday sold its German invoice financing business to GE Capital, as it continues to offload non-core businesses. It said it would sell RBS Factoring GmbH, which provides loans secured against company invoices, to the American conglomerate but did not disclose the price or terms of the deal. Analysts said the [...]
Ericsson secures £1bn china deal March 29, 2010 Ericsson secured deals with Chinese operators totalling $1.8bn (£1.2bn), easing concerns the Swedish group would be badly stung by capital spending cuts by mobile firms in the world’s third biggest economy. Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network gear maker, signed a $1bn deal with China Mobile the worl’’s largest mobile carrier – and an $800 [...]
Jupiter star ploughs into cash March 29, 2010 Fund firm Jupiter’s high-profile investor in financial stocks, Philip Gibbs, has put more than half his fund into cash as uncertainty around the election and western government debt hamper visibility. Gibbs, who made his name when a heavy cash position helped his financials fund turn a profit during the credit crisis, had 52 per cent [...]
BANK’S MERV GIVES HIS DARLING CHANCELLOR THE COLD SHOULDER March 29, 2010 MERVYN King, the seasoned governor of the Bank of England, may have been in the City for longer than he (and many of his contemporaries) would care to remember, but it appears he’s still got a lot to learn in the art of PR. It was off to a fundraising and networking party at the [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK March 29, 2010 A GROUP of eight City suits headed for a boozy lunch last week at Hi Sushi’s Gresham Street branch, to celebrate a retirement with oodles of champagne. The diners chowed down on the Laurent Perrier tasting menu, including salmon carpaccio, seabass sashimi, tempura rolls with caviar, chicken teriyaki, with plenty of extra Laurent Perrier on [...]
Unite to give BA staff cash March 29, 2010 THE UNITE union has pledged to raise £700,000 to pay striking British Airways (BA) cabin crew, in a move designed to show it has the stomach for more walkouts. It will impose a two per cent levy on each of the local Unite branches in the next quarter, and will use the cash to pay striking [...]