FTSE 100 down while Trinity Mirror tumbles October 23, 2012 The blue chip index was down in early trading today, while Trinity Mirror sustained heavy losses on the FTSE All-Share. The newspaper publishing group lost 11.5 per cent in early trading, after four people filed legal claims accusing the group’s newspapers of hacking phones. Defence equipment firm Chemring fell 7.6 per cent, as it announced [...]
Trinity Mirror shares tumble on hacking claims October 23, 2012 Shares in newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror slumped this morning on claims that it was involved in phone hacking. A lawyer lodged the claims in court yesterday on behalf of Sven Goran-Eriksson and three others. The Daily Mirror publisher has previously denied any involvement with phone hacking. The publisher said in a statement today it had [...]
Whitbread boosted by Premier Inn and Costa October 23, 2012 Hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread this morning posted a 10.6 per cent increase in first-half profit, boosted by its Premier Inn and Costa Coffee brands. Pre-tax profit for the leisure group came in at £193.4m over the six months to 30 August, up from £174.9m in the same period last year. Total sales at [...]
Mulberry warns on profits October 23, 2012 Luxury brand Mulberry this morning issued a profit warning, largely due to a fall in wholesale shipments over the half year to 30 September. Mulberry, which makes luxury leather handbags, said this morning that wholesale shipments to third parties were down four per cent over the period to £30m. As a result, it expects revenue [...]
Virgin Media adds record number of new customers October 23, 2012 Virgin Media added almost 40,000 new customers over the three months to September, helped by its super-fast broadband and digital TV service offering. In its third quarter results released this morning, the media group said its 39,500 new customers over the period was up from 6,300 over the previous quarter. Revenue for the media group [...]
BP banks on Rosneft with $27bn tie-up October 22, 2012 BRITISH oil giant BP yesterday agreed to sell out of its Russian joint venture in a deal that will net the firm just over $12bn (£7.5bn) – and a seat at the table of Russia’s newest superpower. After weeks of negotiations, BP yesterday announced it will sell its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP to [...]
End of the road for London cab maker October 22, 2012 ICONIC London black cab maker Manganese Bronze yesterday gave up its fight for survival and called in the administrators, after failing to strike a deal with its Chinese partners to keep the cash-strapped business alive. The Coventry-based company, which makes the cabs through its subsidiary the London Taxi Company, intends to appoint PwC in the [...]
High-frequency trading does not boost volatility October 22, 2012 High-frequency trading (HFT) technology does not heighten market volatility or open the door to increased market abuse, according to a government report out today. The technique – which now accounts for a third of all UK equity trading – uses algorithms to make large numbers of trades and enables investors to profit from split-second moves [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BAE shareholders say chair must go A group of BAE Systems shareholders has demanded the resignation of chairman Dick Olver, saying sweeping changes are needed at the UK defence group following the collapse of its proposed merger with EADS two weeks ago. In a letter to the board, which has been seen by [...]
Cameron calls for BBC to fix row over Savile October 22, 2012 THE BBC yesterday came under further pressure to address allegations its bosses covered up sexual abuse claims levelled at the late Jimmy Savile, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying it had serious questions to answer. Cameron waded into the row as the editor of the BBC’s Newsnight current affairs show, Peter Rippon, stepped aside after [...]