Bottom Line: The war between BT and Sky gets vicious November 11, 2013 WHEN you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” BT’s new chief executive Gavin Patterson has clearly been reading his Sun Tzu. BT’s massive bid for Champions League broadcast rights came out of the blue, scoring a key victory in its war with BSkyB for TV sports dominance. But the best generals have to consider if the [...]
Coalition risks stalemate over green levies as discussions stall November 11, 2013 THE COALITION’S feud over green levies has hit a wall with no progress being made, City A.M. understands. Government policies such as the Energy Companies Obligation (Eco) scheme, an energy-efficiency initiative implemented by suppliers and paid for in bills, are at the centre of a debate into energy prices and the cost of living. Prime [...]
Co-op slashes Labour donation and dividend November 11, 2013 THE TROUBLED Co-operative Group has cuts its donations to the Labour Party as part of wider plans to cut costs in the wake of its banking arm’s capital problems. Its members voted for a cap of £1m on donations this year, down from £1.2m previously. And bosses could choose not to give anything to the [...]
HSBC and Standard Chartered chairmen demand EU reform November 11, 2013 THE CHAIRMEN of two of the UK’s biggest banks yesterday called on Brussels to promote free trade and slash regulation as the best way to increase competitiveness and cut unemployment in the region. HSBC chairman Douglas Flint and Standard Chartered chairman Sir John Peace were among dozens of business leaders who demanded the changes in [...]
Greece’s coalition government survives late confidence vote November 11, 2013 GREECE’S conservative-led coalition defeated, as expected, an opposition-sponsored motion to topple the government last night, but lost one lawmaker who was expelled after backing the opposition. A total 153 out of the parliament’s 300 lawmakers rejected the opposition’s censure motion. But Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s coalition expelled one Socialist lawmaker who voted with the opposition, [...]
Exports to miss Osborne’s 2020 £1 trillion target November 11, 2013 BRITISH businesses need to double the rate of export growth if they are to hit the government’s targets for rebalancing the economy over the rest of this decade, according to a report out today from think tank Reform. Exports in 2013 are expected to come in at just above £500bn – well below the £1 [...]
European Central Bank too big for new headquarters building November 11, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) will not be able to fit all of its staff into its new headquarters, it said over the weekend. The institution is expanding as it is being given more powers to oversee the Eurozone’s banking system, requiring another 1,000 staff. It had not forseen the expansion when it commissioned the [...]
French loan set to pay Credit Lyonnais debts November 11, 2013 FRANCE will borrow €4.5bn (£3.7bn) by the end of the year to settle debts from the collapse of the Credit Lyonnais bank, a French finance ministry official said yesterday. The state has until the end of 2014 to settle the bank’s remaining debts, but decided to take action this year, the official said. A bill [...]
Vodafone set to spend £150m on London network November 11, 2013 VODAFONE is expected to announce a boost to its mobile network in London tomorrow with details of a massive £150m investment to double its 3G capacity and reduce the number of dropped calls in the capital. Alongside its first-half results, the firm will announce details of its so-called Project Metropolis, a plan to increase the [...]
MVF expands into expat travel service with MoveHub startup November 11, 2013 BRITAIN’S fastest growing technology company MVF is moving into the international travel market with the launch of MoveHub, an online travel marketplace which aims to offer expats access to information. “Our aim is for MoveHub to become the TripAdvisor for people looking to move abroad. People will have all the information they need to make [...]
