After the Nvidelity comes the Huangover. Jensen Huang joins long list who confused boardroom and bedroom
Virgin buys into medical centres March 3, 2010 VIRGIN has branched into healthcare after buying 75 per cent stake in a group of walk-in medical centres. Richard Branson is using a unit of his company under the title of Virgin Healthcare to buy into the GPCo business of the Assura Group. It is the largest owner of doctor’s surgeries in the UK and [...]
ITV returns to profit and predicts ad recovery March 3, 2010 ITV returned to profit during 2009 and has tipped advertising revenues to rise this year. The broadcaster made a £25m pre-tax profit for the 12 months to December 31, compared with a £2.73bn loss in the previous year. It said it anticipates advertising revenues rising by as much as 7 per cent in the first [...]
Standard Chartered profit tops £3bn March 3, 2010 STANDARD Chartered has reported a 13 per cent jump in profit for 2009. The bank said it would hand bonuses to top managers on the strength of the performance of the company. Its investment banking growth in its core Asian markets offset a jump in bad debts in the Middle East. The profit rose to [...]
BP: We promise we’ll do better March 2, 2010 BP has pledged to improve its underlying pre-tax profitability by more than $3bn (£2bn) over the next two to three years by cutting further costs and increasing efficiency. Anthony Hayward, chief executive, announced the ambitious targets yesterday at the company’s annual strategy presentation to investors. It comes just a month after Shell said it planned [...]
Cash call weighs on Prudential March 2, 2010 EUPHORIA surrounding Prudential’s £23bn purchase of American International Group’s Asian arm turned into concern yesterday as its share price lurched downwards for the second day in a row. Prudential’s paper fell eight per cent to 487.5p, down from its pre-deal level of 602p. Investors are worried about the dilutive effect of the £13.4bn rights issue [...]
Rival seeks to buy BBC unit March 2, 2010 A rival broadcaster has slammed the BBC for its proposed closure of 6 Music. The BBC announced yesterday it will close the station, pending a consultation period, despite a public and political outcry. Absolute Radio’s chief operating officer Clive Dickens branded the BBC “irresponsible” for not looking for alternatives that could save the brand. Absolute [...]
Britain needs more world-class firms March 2, 2010 IF you want to understand why so many people have now become so downbeat about the prospects for the UK, look no further than yesterday’s survey of the Hundred Group of FTSE 100 finance directors. Their total tax rate – combining all taxes borne or collected by FTSE 100 businesses on the government’s behalf – [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HGCAPITAL SAYS GOLDSHIELD UNDERSTATED PROFITS FOR YEARS Goldshield Group understated its profits by several million pounds over a number of years, according HgCapital, the private equity group that backed a £179m management buy-out of the drugmaker last year. HEDGE FUNDS RAISE BETS AGAINST EURO Hedge funds are raising their bets against the euro [...]
BAE deal with SFO on hold March 2, 2010 BAE Systems may yet face trial over alledged allegations of bribery and corruption following yeterday’s decision by the High Court to grant an injunction against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The injunction prevents the SFO from concluding its investigation into BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company. Last month, the firm agreed to pay fines of [...]
HK cracks down on short sellers March 2, 2010 Hong Kong’s securities watchdog said yesterday it plans to require some short-sellers in the equities market to disclose their positions as part of an attempt by regulators around the world to boost transparency in short selling to better protect investors. The regulator plans to require short-sellers, who make money when a stock’s price falls, to [...]