Virgin close to legal action over media JV July 15, 2010 VIRGIN?Media is almost certain to take legal action over a controversial video-on-demand venture backed by the BBC. Project Canvas is a joint venture between media giants including BT, TalkTalk and ITV that will offer video streamed over users’ broadband connections. It has come under fierce criticism by Virgin and Sky, who say it is bad [...]
NTT in £3bn Dimension bid July 15, 2010 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) has agreed to buy South African IT firm Dimension Data for $3.2bn (£2.1bn) as it seeks growth in emerging markets to offset a stagnant economy at home. Dimension Data, which is a major reseller for networking equipment giant Cisco Systems, has seen growth in Asia and Africa as customers buy [...]
Apple forced into a rare press call over iPhone 4 July 15, 2010 THE world’s largest technology firm will host a rare press conference today as it tries to limit the fallout from the antenna problems plaguing its new phone. Steve Jobs is expected personally to host the press-call, at which he will play down the reception problems with his firm’s flagship iPhone 4. Apple was dealt a [...]
Film studio lists on the main market July 15, 2010 THE studio behind the smash-hit Twilight series stepped up to the main market yesterday. Entertainment One, which is also responsible for the Peppa Pig children’s series, moved its listing from the Aim-market. Chief executive Darren Throop said: “I am delighted to lead Entertainment One onto the main market today. “Our graduation from Aim illustrates the [...]
Vodafone eyes Australian bond offer as it seeks to offload at least 130 staff July 15, 2010 Telecoms giant Vodafone has approached investors to test their appetite for a possible Australian dollar bond issue. Preliminary discussions centred on a seven-year issue at around 170 basis points over swap. Investors named National Australia Bank (NAB) as the bank which was marketing the possible issue. Vodafone said it has no firm plans at this [...]
Microsoft founder Allen to leave fortune to charity July 15, 2010 MICROSOFT co-founder Paul Allen said he is committing the majority of his estimated $13.5bn (£8.8bn) fortune to philanthropy after his death. Allen, who announced in November he was undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, follows in the footsteps of former business partner Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who have both pledged the vast majority [...]
Slow recovery dents UK sales at Experian July 15, 2010 CREDIT information company Experian saw its UK operations shrink by a further one per cent in the last quarter, but strong growth elsewhere led to a seven per cent rise in revenue. The FTSE 100 firm, which offers consumer credit checks and operates in more than 90 countries, said the longer than expected consumer slump [...]
Redstone fined £630K by FSA July 15, 2010 REDSTONE Mortgages has received a £630,000 fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to treat customers facing mortgage arrears fairly. The FSA said yesterday the fine, which could have been as high as £900,000 if the sub-prime lender had not co-operated with the regulator, was handed to Redstone for “a number of serious [...]
Experian July 15, 2010 CREDIT services have been under pressure in the recession as people have cut back on spending, but Experian is clearly now on the up again. Its first quarter results – showing total revenue growth of seven per cent – are its strongest for three years. It has delivered improved performances worldwide with organic growth in [...]
Capital One and Discover defaults fall July 15, 2010 Credit card charge-offs and delinquencies improved at Capital One Financial and Discover Financial Services in June as fewer Americans fell seriously behind on credit card payments. The companies said yesterday that their credit card delinquency rates in June fell to the lowest levels this year. Delinquencies are a sign of future losses. Discover said in [...]
