BALLMER: RACE IS ON June 3, 2010 MICROSOFT’S chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday the “race is on” between the next generation of Windows and Mac products. “It’s not about Mac and PC any more, it will be about the thing that replaces the Mac,” he told a conference in Los Angeles. He said spending on technology is expected to increase in [...]
Baker & McKenzie elects Brazilian as its chairman June 3, 2010 US LAW firm Baker & McKenzie has appointed Brazilian Eduardo Leite as chairman, marking the first time a large legal practice has turned to the emerging markets for a leader. Leite, who currently practises in the firm’s Sao Paolo office and serves as executive vice president of the China-Brazil Business Council, will replace outgoing chairman [...]
JP Morgan is slapped with a record fine June 3, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority yesterday slapped JP Morgan with the biggest fine it has ever administered. It issued a mammoth £33.3m fine for “failing to protect client money” after it found the bank failed to keep clients money in a special ring-fenced account. The issue relates to billions of pounds of transactions processed by JP [...]
First man extradited over insider dealing charges takes the stand June 3, 2010 THE first man to be extradited to the UK to face insider trading charges made his preliminary court appearance yesterday. Singaporean Helmy Omar Sa’aid, 33, who was extradited to Britain from Mayotte, a French territory in the Comoros Islands, appeared at Southwark Crown Court. The appearance precedes a full trial over allegations he was involved [...]
Xstrata halts sites in super tax protest June 3, 2010 XSTRATA ratcheted up pressure on the Australian government over its controversial resources tax yesterday by suspending two projects in Queensland and putting A$22bn (£13bn) of investment on hold. The mining giant said it would no longer be economically viable to spend A$586m on a coal site in the Surat Basin and a copper facility in [...]
Network Rail profit slides as debt rises June 3, 2010 NETWORK Rail’s pre-tax profits dropped by more than 75 per cent last year, amid a reduced budget and rising debt pile. The owner of the British rail system lost eight per cent of revenue, down to £5.67bn, in the last financial year due to a reduced government grant and a fall in track charges paid [...]
Former Yahoo boss lands plum ITV job June 3, 2010 FORMER European Yahoo executive Fru Hazlitt is to join ITV to run the broadcaster’s TV and online sales business in a move designed to better link the company’s different platforms. Hazlitt, who previously ran the radio group GCap Media and commercial operations for Yahoo in the UK and Europe, will take up the newly-created role [...]
Christie’s and Sotheby’s set for record sales June 3, 2010 RIVALS Christie’s and Sotheby’s are expecting to hold their biggest ever London sales later this month, reflecting growing confidence in the art market boom. Christie’s announced yesterday it was offering a 1906 Monet water-lily painting worth an estimated £30m to 40m –?the same price as a Blue Period portrait by Pablo Picasso. The pair, plus [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 3, 2010 Deloitte The business advisory firm has appointed Vince Niblett as the new global leader of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s audit and enterprise risk services practice. Niblett originally joined Deloitte in 1980 and has since been seconded to a number of assignments across the globe, including posts in Australia, Luxembourg, the Middle East and South America. He [...]
Cemex hit by slumping euro June 3, 2010 Mexico’s Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement maker, blamed the slumping euro yesterday for a five per cent cut in its forecast of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for 2010. Chief executive Lorenzo Zambrano said Cemex expects EBITDA of $2.75bn this year and free cash flow, after maintenance and capital expenditures, of $800m.
