Microsoft unveils new tablet PC January 7, 2010 MICROSOFT chief executive Steve Ballmer unveiled a new Hewlett-Packard tablet computer yesterday, beating Apple’s hotly anticipated move into the market. But analysts were sceptical that Microsoft and HP could generate as much consumer excitement as Apple’s new device, widely expected to be unveiled on 27 January, though the company has not said anything about it [...]
Costain cheers as order book hits £2.6bn mark January 7, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Costain is celebrating a 30 per cent rise in forward orders to £2.6bn thanks to transport, utility and local authority work. Costain said 2010 prospects were uncertain, but its order book included more than £850m of work this year, better than at this time last year. The group is winning utility, nuclear, road [...]
Hunt for Chinese ponzi schemer January 7, 2010 Police in Canada have issued an arrest warrant for the self-proclaimed “Chinese Warren Buffett” accused of masterminding a million-dollar Ponzi scheme. Weizhen Tang, 51, of Toronto, is alleged to have defrauded more than 100 victims of nearly £19m through an online trading scheme. He is currently thought to be in Hong Kong.
Delay for Ticketmaster merger January 7, 2010 The US Justice Department wants to see more concessions before deciding whether to approve the merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, according to sources. If no agreement is reached, a team of lawyers is ready oppose the music industry deal, seen as the Obama administration’s best chance yet [...]
Horizon recruits ex-Goldman man January 7, 2010 US private investment firm Horizon Asset Management yesterday named former Goldman Sachs partner Douglas Kramer as chief executive. The move is part of the New York firm’s strategy to lure money from institutional investors to add to its existing client base of high-net-worth individuals.
European flotations start to rise January 7, 2010 The number of company flotations in Europe rose significantly in the final quarter of 2009, a study shows. There were 61 initial public offerings (IPOs) worth €4.99bn in the last quarter of the year, compared with 44 listings that raised €1.37bn in the third quarter, according to the IPO Watch Europe survey from business services [...]
Music sales hit by piracy January 7, 2010 Album sales in the UK fell for the fifth year in a row in 2009, highlighting the threat posed to record labels by online pirates and video games, industry figures showed. Sales fell 3.5 per cent to 128.9m in 2009, according to figures from the BPI music industry group.
Ireland confident of bad bank plan January 7, 2010 Ireland is confident of European Union (EU) approval for its “bad bank” scheme by February, resulting in a slight delay to its launch, officials said yesterday.
Brown lays out new plan for growth January 7, 2010 THE Labour government’s efforts to engineer an economic recovery are compatible with tackling the record budget deficit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday. With the country emerging from its worst recession in decades, policymakers are trying to support the recovery while also reassuring sceptical financial markets that plans to halve the deficit over four [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 7, 2010 SAGE UBS has switched its rating to “buy” from “netural”, pointing out it is trading at a 23 per cent discount to its FTSE peer group. It believes the current share price ignores the sustainability of Sage’s 2009 cost savings programme. Anticipates a “solid” trading update later this month, and says “patient” buyers will be [...]