EU competition law thwarts Vodafone’s Greek merger deal February 5, 2012 VODAFONE will scrap a $1bn merger of its Greek business with a local competitor due to the belief that EU regulatory authorities will block the deal. The deal with Wind Hellas will be called off due to “regulatory uncertainty” on EU competition law. The turmoil of the Greek economy, which is in a deep recession, [...]
Queen marks sixty years on the throne February 5, 2012 THE QUEEN will today celebrate her Diamond Jubilee anniversary, with 6 February marking exactly 60 years since her accession to the throne. Yesterday the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who is recovering from treatment for a blocked artery over Christmas, attended a church service in Sandringham, as her traditional winter break in Norfolk comes [...]
City panel concerned about the impact of Financial Services Bill February 5, 2012 AS MPs debate the new Financial Services Bill in the Commons today, almost 60 per cent of our Voice of the City panel have confessed to being concerned about the overall impact it could have on the UK. Fifteen per cent of our panel – surveyed in association with PoliticsHome.com, said they were “very concerned” [...]
THE FIRST CLASS WAY TO MARK THE JUBILEE February 5, 2012 AS USEFUL as a bank holiday might have been today for those of you valiantly battling to make it to work through the snow, we’re all going to have to wait another few months before the Queen’s official Diamond Jubilee festivities afford the City a four-day weekend. But for those wanting to start the celebrations [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK February 5, 2012 A GROUP of six Credit Suisse bankers took themselves to Gaucho for an early lunch last Thursday – and left more than £2,000 poorer after a rather unusual last-minute addition to their bill. After a traditional steak dinner mixing and matching the restaurant’s meat offerings – from the modestly priced sirloin to a more flashy [...]
Cables finally lead to profit February 5, 2012 CABLE television is set to announce its first profitable year in the UK after almost 30 years of operation which have swallowed up investments of £13bn. Virgin Media, the nation’s main cable operator, is expected to report its first annual net profit on Wednesday, compared to a loss of £141.4m last year and £357.8m the [...]
Zuckerberg faces whopping tax bill February 5, 2012 FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg could fork out more than $1.5bn (£950m) in taxes when the Menlo Park-based company goes public in May. The S1 form, filed with the SEC last Wednesday, outlined that Zuckerberg intends to exercise his outstanding stock options on shares he was given in 2005 for his role as chief executive, selling [...]
AutoTrader website takes first steps to file for public offering February 5, 2012 ONLINE car sales network AutoTrader.com is making preparations to list as a public company, according to Bloomberg, following in the footsteps of Facebook which last week filed for a staggering $5bn IPO. The website, which is owned by Cox Enterprises (75 per cent) and Providence Equity Partners (25 per cent), is said to be currently [...]
All3Media sets hunt for new chief in motion February 5, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm Permira is on the lookout for a new chief executive for All3Media, in which it owns a majority stake, as current head Steve Morrison, 64, prepares to step down. A headhunter has been brought in as it is thought likely that the new chief executive will be an external candidate. All3Media, the [...]
Some lessons from the US university system February 5, 2012 BEWARE, those who follow our lead. Those who defend the UK’s university fee hikes say that there’s no need to worry, because the educational loan system ensures that students still are able to pay for an education. Well, let me tell you about loan systems. We have a loan system in the US, where I’m [...]