Satellite broadcaster BSkyB nears key 10m subscriptions October 17, 2010 SATELLITE broadcaster BSkyB is tipped to say it is edging closer to its target of 10m subscribers when it reports first quarter trading on Friday. Broker Numis Securities expects the group to reveal that it picked up 53,000 subscribers in the three months to September, leaving it with more than 9.9m customers. Numis also forecasts [...]
Rightmove: October jump saves London from a year-on-year fall October 17, 2010 AN eleventh-hour price jump in the London housing market saved it from a year-on-year fall, according to the latest Rightmove House Price Index. Asking prices spiked five per cent in October compared to the previous month – from £399,019 to £418,778 – as sellers aim to capitalise on the traditionally lively run-in to Christmas. This [...]
Hands set for day in court over EMI deal October 17, 2010 AN explosive court case brought by Guy Hands, founder of buyout house Terra Firma, against Citigroup over indebted record label EMI opens in Manhattan today. Hands is suing Citigroup for up to £7bn in damages to cover equity lost since it bought EMI for £4.2bn in 2007, alleging that David Wormsley, a senior Citigroup banker [...]
US banks set to suffer from trading slump October 17, 2010 ANALYSTS have slashed their forecasts ahead of the slew of US banks reporting third quarter earnings this week, as concerns over a steep fall in trading activity and the housing foreclosure ruckus in the States weighed on expectations. Wall Street bank shares had rallied last week after JP Morgan topped analysts’ consensus earnings forecasts of [...]
ECB should stay silent about monetary policy October 17, 2010 JEAN Claude Trichet and his colleagues at the ECB are playing a dangerous game. Despite the Eurozone’s recovery still looking fragile, the central bank’s key playmakers seem determined to talk about pushing policy back onto a more “normal” footing. Just last week, the Bundesbank’s Axel Weber, in a speech given in New York, indicated his [...]
BAE pushed to cut contract prices October 17, 2010 Defence contractor BAE Systems is set to be forced to slash the price of its contracted services with the government in the future, as part of the Ministry of Defence’s drive to cut costs. Ministers are this week poised to announce a strategic defence review which will aim to cut the department’s annual budget by [...]
Travelport seeks easing on debt October 17, 2010 Travel services group Travelport has approached its lenders to ease the requirements on its debt covenants to prevent a possible breach next year, according to weekend reports. The move comes after Travelport earlier this year had to cancel a planned $1.78bn (£1.11bn) London IPO due to poor demand. The firm’s advisers had tried to rescue [...]
British Gas shuffles seasonal work October 17, 2010 British Gas engineers will get a pay rise of more than a tenth in return for working longer hours in the winter to tackle higher numbers of gas and electricity problems, it emerged yesterday. The parent company of British Gas, Centrica, and the GMB union have negotiated a deal under which the firm’s 8,000 engineers [...]
Crunch time for BHP and Rio venture October 17, 2010 BHP BILLITON and Rio Tinto’s $116bn (£72bn) iron ore joint venture is hanging by a thread after the European Commission has told the companies it will object to the deal. The EU’s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia is preparing to send a list of objections to Rio and BHP this week, which will ask the world’s [...]
Gulf Keystone raises £109m October 17, 2010 GULF Keystone Petroleum yesterday announced is has raised £109.2m through an oversubscribed share placing. The Kurdistan focused independent oil and gas exploration company says it will use the proceeds to accelerate its active drilling programme across its four blocks in Kurdistan. This will involve contracting a third Gulf Keystone operated deep drilling rig, as well [...]