GREYHOUND HITS THE UK August 9, 2009 THE famed Greyhound buses will soon be seen on the UK’s motorways after FirstGroup, which bought the franchise two years ago, secured a deal to start services in London from next month. Fares on the bus will start from £1, and it is hoped that it will take on budget transport rivals National Express and [...]
CITY BACK FROM WEEK OF FROLICS AT COWES August 9, 2009 THE weather-beaten City sailing crowd are back in the City this week after the annual Cowes week regatta, probably feeling a touch worse for wear after the closing celebrations at the weekend. Carphone Warehouse tycoon Charles Dunstone was celebrating winning the overall trophy for his class, after his boat Rio finished ahead of the pack [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK August 9, 2009 EXCLUSIVITY is officially back in vogue. This group of four accountants were invited to dine at the private table in High Timber’s wine cellar by restaurant founder Neleen Strauss last week, where they proceeded to spend £2,114.16 of their hard-earned cash on fine wine and mouth-watering munch. Roasted scallops, foie gras and rib eye steaks [...]
Guardian loses 24m on investment hedge August 9, 2009 NEWSPAPER publisher Guardian Media Group (GMG) has caused a storm by admitting it lost £24m on hedging against currency movements last year, as the future of its Observer Sunday newspaper continues to hang in the balance. GMG hedged its £200m investment portfolio, which is heavily weighted towards funds denominated in other currencies, against an appreciation [...]
Debt fears cast a cloud over outlook for stocks August 9, 2009 The FTSE 100 hit its highest point for the year last week, boosted by big gains for the banks. But that was until Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Stephen Hester handed out a dose of reality. Unlike Lloyds he refused to speculate that the worst is over and pointed out the next two [...]
Media Square heads for tussle with investor August 9, 2009 MEDIA Square, the communications firm led by entrepreneur Roger Parry, looks set for a tussle with its largest shareholder Peter Lynch over concerns the former stockbroker might try to wrest control of the company. In a circular sent ahead of its annual meeting later this month, Media Square has urged shareholders to vote down an [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 9, 2009 ROLLS-ROYCEGoldmach Sachs downgraded the civil aerospace company to Sell after a strong outperformance against its peers. It added that it expected the sector’s downturn to be less severe than investors anticipated, and that Rolls-Royce would benefit from this. It downgraded the company because its shares trade at a premium to rivals.FRANCE TELECOMJP Morgan upgraded France [...]
Land Rover wins debt lifeline August 9, 2009 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has secured a £75m finance lifeline by mortgaging its stock of Land Rover parts.Burdale Financial, Bank of Ireland’s finance division, has granted a three-year debt facility of up to £75m to the carmaker, which is owned by Tata Motors, of India.The loan is secured on the inventory of Land Rover’s parts [...]
Razorfish bought by Publicis for $530m August 9, 2009 FRENCH advertising group Publicis yesterday agreed to buy Razorfish advertising agency from technology giant Microsoft for $530m (£317m) in cash and stock. Publicis beat off around eight interested companies for Microsoft’s unit, including the UK’s WPP plc and Japanese firm Dentsu. The Paris-based group’s chief executive Maurice Levy said the price paid was the result [...]
Immigration rulers should welcome City talent August 9, 2009 Immigration has hit the news again with word that the Government is considering extending the points-based immigration system, introduced last year for work permit applications, to applications for British citizenship. It is an emotive subject, but getting immigration policy right is important for the success of the City of London and the government needs to [...]