Herbert Smith merger to form top 10 law firm June 28, 2012 CITY law firm Herbert Smith announced yesterday that it is to merge with Australia’s Freehills, in a tie-up that will create one of the world’s top 10 law firms by headcount. Herbies, which employs more than 700 lawyers in its London offices, will combine with the Australian firm to create a business with historic joint [...]
RIM’s losses mount as new BlackBerry is delayed June 28, 2012 BLACKBERRY manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) last night announced worse-than-expected quarterly losses and said it has been forced to delay the launch of its new operating system until early next year, a potentially devastating setback for the struggling firm. RIM said consumers would have to wait for devices running its next-generation BlackBerry 10 software because [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 28, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Bostock poised to leave M&S Kate Bostock, the head of all of Marks and Spencer’s non-food business, including clothing, is poised to leave the high street retailer. Ms Bostock’s departure could be announced at M&S’s annual meeting on July 10, or possibly sooner. The expected departure of Ms Bostock, who has been with [...]
Slap in the face for UK as News Corp plans split June 28, 2012 RUPERT Murdoch delivered a stinging blow to the UK yesterday as he outlined plans to split his businesses in two. Asked about the ongoing investigations into several of News Corp’s British subsidiaries, including News International and BSkyB, Murdoch implied his UK-based assets are not crucial to the success of his company. The News Corp boss [...]
UK GDP deeper in recession on newest figures June 28, 2012 THE UK recession was deeper than previously thought, showed revised estimates released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday. The growth estimates for the fourth quarter 2011 were revised down to -0.4 per cent, rather than the 0.3 per cent shrinkage previously estimated. On the other hand, the new data estimates a 6.3 per cent [...]
Vivendi break-up eyed as Levy steps down over strategy row June 28, 2012 THE reign of Vivendi chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy ended yesterday in a strategy dispute with the French telecoms and media conglomerate’s supervisory board, paving the way for possible disposals to shake up its flagging share price. Vivendi, whose shares are at nine-year lows, has been reviewing its conglomerate structure and seeking ideas on how to [...]
OLYMPICS CABLE CAR LIFTS OFF IN EAST LONDON June 28, 2012 LONDON’S first cable car service opened its doors to the public yesterday, a spectacular ride high across the River Thames near the Olympic Park which will help visitors to the Games avoid any jams on the ground. Called the Emirates Air Line, it soars almost 300ft above the river, offering 360-degree views of the east [...]
Pwc’s PARTNERSHIP: the new recruits June 28, 2012 TAX Fiona Camenzuli Dean Farthing Ben Flockton Janette Jones Scott Lindsay Philip Martinos Tim McCann Darrel Poletyllo Lucy Redding Lachlan Roos Ben Wilkins Paul Wolstenholme ADVISORY Mark Anderson Antony Cook Jeff Ford Celine Herweijer John Lyons Edward Macnamara Richard Major David Morris Brendan O’Driscoll Neil O’Keeffe Will Richardson Dan Stott Jeremy Webb ASSURANCE Lee Clarke [...]
PwC adds 61 partners across its UK offices June 28, 2012 ACCOUNTANCY giant PwC will today announce the names of the 39 employees it will promote to its partnership next month, bringing the firm’s total new partners over the last year to 61. The other 22 partners have joined PwC in the last 12 months from other companies. Spread across the firm’s advisory, tax and assurance [...]
Auditors blame overwork for HMRC’s £5.2bn tax write-offs June 28, 2012 THE BRITISH taxman wrote off £5.2bn last year and made billions more in errors as it was overwhelmed by its growing workload, the National Audit Office said yesterday. The audit unearthed a “large increase” in the amount of tax liabilities that HM Revenue and Customs decided not to pursue over the last two years. Around [...]