THE YEN IS NO LONGER SUCH A SAFE HAVEN June 1, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT IF POLITICIANS in the West want to cheer themselves up all they have to do is look at the approval ratings of Yukio Hatayama. Less than 20 per cent of the electorate feels that Japan’s prime minister is doing a good job. Even Richard Nixon still had the trust and [...]
THE TIPSTER June 1, 2010 AS PREDICTED in this column yesterday, a collapse in the Prudential-AIG deal was always going to see cable pop upwards as a result of the massive hedge that was in place needing to be unwound. Cue a 260 pip rally yesterday following news that the deal is almost certainly off by the end of the [...]
Fears over BP’s survival drags FTSE 100 lower as the latest bid to plug leak fails June 1, 2010 TOP shares fell yesterday led by a plunge in BP shares after the company’s failure to stem an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but they finished off lows thanks to upbeat US construction data. The FTSE 100 closed down 25.13 points or 0.5 per cent at 5,163.30, its lowest close since 26 May, [...]
Slide in energy shares hits US as jittery investors sell June 1, 2010 US stocks fell yesterday as energy shares slid after the latest failed attempt to halt the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the US government announced a criminal probe into the disaster. Investors punished shares of companies directly involved with the spill and losses accelerated into the close following the news of the [...]
Vodafone in $2bn Indian tax setback June 1, 2010 VODAFONE’s long-running battle over an acquisition it made three years ago continued yesterday when India’s tax department served a new notice on it, which could see the pair battle it out in court afresh. The case relates to Vodafone’s $11bn (£7.5bn) acquisition of Hutchison Essar in 2007. Indian authorities believe Vodafone should have paid a [...]
ISPs slam Ofcom’s piracy rules June 1, 2010 OFCOM yesterday confirmed it will apply tough new anti-piracy laws only to internet service providers (ISP) with over 400,000 subscribers. The controversial Digital Economy Bill (DEB), passed after Gordon Brown had dissolved his government, will force ISPs to write to users suspected of piracy and could eventually force them to cut the users off. The [...]
O2 bites into Apple with package for Dell’s tablet June 1, 2010 TELECOMS giant O2 hopes to muscle in on the roaring success of Apple’s iPad by offering a package for Dell’s new tablet device. It will give free mobile connectivity to users already signed up to its mobile broadband package costing from £25 a month. Dell hopes its new Streak tablet computer, which can double as [...]
Google bans Windows over security fears June 1, 2010 GOOGLE is phasing out internal use of rival Microsoft’s Windows operating system because of security concerns following a Chinese hacking incident. The decision to move to other operating systems including Apple’s Mac OS and open-source Linux began in January after Google’s Chinese operations were hacked. Internet security firm McAfee said the cyber attacks on Google [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE IPAD – IS IT THE FUTURE FOR BUSINESS? June 1, 2010 DANIEL MORGAN | VTB CAPITAL “It really is the biggest waste of money ever. I can’t see what the ? difference is between the iPad and other computers. If it was a standalone device I could see the attraction, but it needs to link with a Mac computer to get the most out of it.” [...]
Regulators to look again at Unilever deal June 1, 2010 EUROPEAN Union regulators yesterday extended their probe of Unilever’s bid for Sara Lee Corp’s body care business after the Anglo-Dutch company refused to offer concessions to address competition concerns. European Union watchdogs have said they will need to carefully scrutinise the deal to buy Sara Lee’s personal care business as they fear it could give [...]
