Suppliers stuck playing Santa December 13, 2012 HOW long can HMV rely on its suppliers to play Santa Claus? At the start of 2012, the long-suffering entertainment retailer forged a closer alliance with suppliers in return for a 2.5 per cent stake. Their support is understood to have run into tens of millions of pounds already, and to include supplying goods on [...]
Talks break down on internet treaty after UK refuses to sign December 13, 2012 INTERNATIONAL negotiations over internet regulation collapsed without a conclusion last night, as representatives from the UK and US refused to agree to terms demanded by countries including Russia, China and Iran. Two weeks of talks over a reformed UN communications agreement came to a head as a host of western nations said they would not [...]
Two-timing ex banker jailed for illegal tips December 13, 2012 A ROGUE former investment banker who convinced his two girlfriends to trade on insider information he fed them was locked up for two years and eight months yesterday. Thomas Ammann, 39, leaked insider tips to both of his girlfriends Christina Weckwerth, 44, and Dr Jessica Mang, 30, about his client, Canon, and its planned takeover [...]
2,000 staff to go in Barclays’ major review December 13, 2012 BARCLAYS is preparing to cut up to 2,000 investment banking jobs under a major review of how it does business, it emerged yesterday, joining the flood of investment banks cutting costs and closing down sub-scale businesses. The major British bank is expected to cut back its Asian and European operations as it focuses on its [...]
Centamin sinks as it suspends its Sukari mine December 13, 2012 SHARES in Egyptian-focused miner Centamin lost almost half their value yesterday, as is said it would close its flagship asset following a dispute over diesel supplies. The FTSE 250 firm said yesterday that it had received a claim from Egypt’s national oil company for around $65m (£40m) in back payments for diesel fuel supplied from [...]
BG Group appoints oil veteran Chris Finlayson as its new chief December 13, 2012 BG GROUP yesterday appointed Chris Finlayson as its new chief executive, starting in January. Industry veteran Finlayson is currently managing director of BG Advance and has over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He joined BG Group from Shell, where he was a member of the exploration and production leadership team. [...]
Trevor to take the Strain as Morrisons FD December 13, 2012 MORRISONS, the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket, has chosen Trevor Strain to replace Richard Pennycook as its new group finance director, it said yesterday. Strain will be officially appointed to the main board in June 2013, but will take on Pennycook’s responsibilities next spring after a handover. Strain joined Morrisons in 2009 as commercial and operations [...]
Majority owner Sprint offers up $2.1bn to buy rest of Clearwire December 13, 2012 SPRINT Nextel, the majority owner of Clearwire, has offered $2.1bn (£1.3bn) to buy the rest of the wireless service provider, but it will likely have to offer more money in order to secure a deal. Clearwire, which said it is reviewing the offer, saw its shares jump more than 11 per cent to $3.06 after [...]
KPMG’s global revenues jump 1.4 per cent to a record $23bn December 13, 2012 KPMG’s global revenues hit a record $23bn (£14.3bn) for the year to the end of September, the professional services firm said yesterday. Turnover rose 4.4 per cent in local terms across the business, or 1.4 per cent including currency movements. Chairman Michael Andrew said performance had grown weaker during the year. “2012 was a year [...]
National Express on track with revenues December 13, 2012 TRANSPORT company National Express said yesterday that it is on track to deliver a good revenue and profit performance for 2012. Its coach division, which covers 1,000 destinations in the UK, expects a four per cent rise in passenger volume in 2012, while revenues from non-concession passengers rose two per cent. The rise comes after [...]