Spotify gets investment interest August 3, 2009 Digital music service Spotify is understood to be close to winning new investment from high-profile investors, including the charitable foundation of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. The service, which has been widely tipped to challenge the dominance of Apple’s iTunes, wants to raise cash to improve its status in the US. Since launching in the [...]
US car sales jump in July August 3, 2009 US CAR sales jumped to their highest level of the year in July as Americans took advantage of the government’s cash for clunkers scrappage scheme, according to industry figures released yesterday. Ford, led by chief executive Alan Mulally, posted a two per cent increase in sales, its first rise in nearly two years, while other [...]
Sunday Times to launch website August 3, 2009 The Sunday Times newspaper will set up its own website, the company said yesterday, adding that it may charge readers for access to its articles. The paper currently shares a website with its sister title, The Times. The launch would mark the first time a Sunday paper has set up its own site. Rupert Murdoch, [...]
New bidders circle Insight August 3, 2009 BANK of New York Mellon and Northern Trust have made a late entry into the race to buy the majority of Insight, the asset manager that Lloyds Banking Group inherited from HBOS, sources said yesterday. Both US banks are understood to have presented binding offers for the unit, valued at between £230m and £250m, with [...]
Bank hate is exaggerated and simplistic August 3, 2009 IF WE are to believe most commentators, it is an outrage that Barclays and HSBC were able to report decent profits yesterday. The main reason, apparently, is that there are “fears” that lending remains too tight, and that the dreaded “bonus culture” will return. Needless to say, had the banks reported a collapse in earnings, [...]
Factories in the UK and US return to growth in July August 3, 2009 BRITISH manufacturing activity grew in July for the first time since March 2008 due to the fastest rate of growth in new orders since November 2007, yesterday’s CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) said. The survey showed a rise to 50.8 from 47.4 in June, and above the critical 50 level that separates expansion from [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN EQUITIES AT PRESENT? August 3, 2009 DARREN FOLGER RECRUITMENT“I have a little more confidence now, I think they will improve. I work for a financial recruitment company and we are doing better now so hopefully it’s a sign the market is improving.” ROBERT GROVES DRESDNER“At present I am. It doesn’t feel like it is the end of the recent stock market [...]
FSA looks into dark pools August 3, 2009 CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday launched a probe into how UK equity markets are used, with a special focus on the way in which so-called “dark pools” and “high frequency” traders operate. The news comes as financial regulators around the globe come under pressure to step up scrutiny on the industry, especially [...]
ABOUT SCHMIDT August 3, 2009 GOOGLE chief executive Eric Schmidt yesterday resigned from the board of Apple, citing conflicts of interest and increased competition between the two companies . The move comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of the relationship between internet search giant Google and Apple, the maker of iPhones and Mac computers.
UK worth nearly 7 trillion August 3, 2009 The UK was worth almost £7 trillion at the end of 2008, a two per cent drop on the previous year and the first fall since 1992, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. The UK’s most valuable asset is housing, worth £3.923bn and 56 per cent of total net worth, down nine per [...]