BSkyB shares fall on BT Champions League news, but did BT pay too much? November 11, 2013 BSkyB is dragging the FTSE 100 down 4.4 points, as it shares dropped more than eight per cent this morning, after rival BT won the exclusive broadcasting rights to Champions and Europa League football matches. BT Sport will be the home of UEFA from 2015-2018, in a £900m deal announced on Saturday. BT has agreed to [...]
Sage announces Steve Hare as new finance chief November 11, 2013 Business management software provider Sage has announced today the appointment of Steve Hare as its new chief financial officer (CFO), with effect from 3 January 2014. (Release) Hare will replace Paul Harrison, who stepped down in August. Most recently, Hare was operating partner at Apax Partners and, before joining Apax in 2009, he accumulated over [...]
Shire expands with $4.2bn acquisition of rare disease specialist ViroPhama November 11, 2013 UK pharmaceuticals company Shire announced today that it has agreed to buy rare disease specialist ViroPhama. Shire will buy the US drugs company for $4.2bn (£2.6bn) or $50 per share, representing a 27 per cent premium on Friday's closing price. (Release) Shire believes the acquisition will strengthen its rare disease portfolio, to which the company [...]
Admiral turnover reduced by weaker UK market November 11, 2013 Car insurance specialist Admiral Group has announce a seven per cent decline in turnover this morning to £528m in the third quarter to September. The firm remains on track to meet its expectations this year, with international car insurance turnover up 26 per cent on the same period last year. (Release) UK Car insurance turnover [...]
What you need to know before the open – 11/11 November 11, 2013 European markets are expected to open up this morning after their Asian counterparts closed mixed. With little data coming in today, investors are focused on the end of the week. On Thursday, we've got a raft of GDP readings from the Eurozone, a week after the ECB rate cut was announced. Asian markets want [...]
The Greenbelt sacred cow: It pens in the poor for no environmental gain | City A.M. November 11, 2013 GREENBELTS combine the qualities of sacred cows and juggernauts. To question their benignly green and fair credentials is to invite abuse: yet the unstoppable damage they do to societal fairness, housing affordability, the economic efficiency of our cities, even the environment, is devastating. Greenbelts have a mystical quality, in that almost everything we believe about [...]
London’s got talent: Capital biggest employer of highly-skilled individuals November 11, 2013 The capital beats New York to top global league table as the biggest employer of highly-skilled individuals LONDON is the best city in the world for jobs in the knowledge economy, a report out today shows, confirming the capital’s status as a global talent magnet. The capital employs 1.5m people in highly-skilled sectors such as [...]
US consumer confidence drops unexpectedly in November November 8, 2013 US consumer confidence has dropped unexpectedly in November, with a flash estimate coming in at 72.0, following expectations of 74.5 and last month's (apparently shutdown-induced) near-year low of 73.2. Amna Asaf of Capital Economics comments that the decline is disappointing, but adds that "it is hard to square with the improvement in the normal key drivers [...]
Barclays and Deutsche Bank lose bid to keep Libor claims out of court November 8, 2013 Deutsche Bank and Barclays have failed to prevent allegations of interest rate manipulation from being included in two ongoing lawsuits. The decision, made by the UK Court of Appeal today, means that the banks could lose millions of pounds. It could also become a test case – with other litigation over the fixing of the [...]
Mighty Wings fail to save McDonald’s from poor performance in October November 8, 2013 McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food company, recorded a weaker than expected sales increase of 0.2 per cent in the US in October. New products such as the Mighty Wings and the Pumpkin Spiced Latte were largely responsible for the tepid growth seen in the US, but failed to produce impressive results. Sales in Europe rose [...]