Coming to a big screen near you: Wonga the Movie October 14, 2013 THE Hollywood hit rate for films about business is surprisingly good, with flicks like the Oscar-winning Social Network and 1980s shoulder-pad classic Wall Street all proving good popcorn fodder. But a new offering threatens to upset all that. Wonga: The Movie, a forthcoming feature film about the under-fire payday lender, is due out at the [...]
Amazon hits 15 years of British online business October 14, 2013 AMAZON UK celebrates its 15th birthday today, with its British operations having run since 1998. Amazon has seen dramatic growth in its 15 years with revenue growing from $293,643 (£183,662) in its first quarter of 1999, after launching in the UK, to highs of $15.7bn last quarter. Despite Amazon’s record growth, its earnings are harder [...]
Clandestine dining spots revealed October 14, 2013 SECURITY experts at Blackstone Consultancy have analysed the City’s top venues to find the best spots for those wanting to host clandestine meetings with potential employers, recruitment consultants, or with other parties that value discretion. They then spilled the beans to The Capitalist. One Lombard was praised for its windowless private room and the option [...]
Summer closes on a sunny note for EU industry October 14, 2013 INDUSTRY in the euro area grew at its fastest pace for two years this August, with output rising by one per cent from July alone. The boost to production makes up for a dip of one per cent between June and July, with a particularly impressive performance for Portugal, where production rose by 8.2 per [...]
European Central Bank says no to rolling over Greece’s bonds October 14, 2013 GREEK finance minister Yannis Stournaras was rebuffed by the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday, after suggestions that the country’s bonds held by the bank could be rolled over. Stournaras had suggested to Greek media that the country could push back the maturity of €4.5bn (£3.82bn) of debt, in around six months’ time, to cover a [...]
Inflation hits highest point for half a year in India and China October 14, 2013 INFLATION in the world’s two most populous countries reached seven-month highs in September, according to official statistics released by the Indian and Chinese governments yesterday. The effect of poor weather on food prices has been blamed for the rise in Chinese consumer inflation, which stood at 3.1 per cent in the year to last month. [...]
IAG denounces Alitalia rescue plans as illegal October 14, 2013 INTERNATIONAL Airlines Group yesterday denounced Italian plans to rescue Alitalia as illegal, as shareholders were due to vote on a capital increase to keep the near-bankrupt flag carrier flying. IAG, which owns British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia, urged the European Commission to intervene over the Italian government’s attempts to stitch together a bailout for [...]
CWC to sell off Algerian group October 14, 2013 TELECOMES operator Cable & Wireless Communications has sold its Algerian satellite business for $1.4m (£0.8m) as part of its efforts to streamline the business. The FTSE 250-listed company, which split from Cable & Wireless Worldwide in 2010, said yesterday that the sale of Divona to Algerian company Smart Link Com is not expected to have a [...]
Voda seals its Kabel buyout October 14, 2013 VODAFONE’S takeover of Kabel Deutschland was completed yesterday, with the FTSE 100-listed telecom company left holding 76.57 per cent of Kabel’s share capital. The deal, valued at €7.7bn (£6.5bn), hinged on Kabel Deutschland shareholders tendering 75 per cent of their shares for Vodafone to buy at €87 a share, a threshold that was narrowly passed [...]
YouGov lifted by fresh contract wins and Middle Eastern growth October 14, 2013 ONLINE market research agency YouGov reported a 13 per cent rise in profits to £6.8m for the year to July, on the back of a number of new contracts from Barclays, Blackrock and ITV. Revenues from the pollster jumped eight per cent to £62.6m boosted by growth emerging from the company’s Middle East operations, which [...]
