Hollande turns to robots and driverless cars to boost France September 12, 2013 FRANCOIS Hollande laid out a 10-year roadmap yesterday to revive French industry by promoting new technologies to drive job creation, but which offered little public money from stretched state coffers. The socialist president, whose 2014 national budget next month will focus on curbing spending, vowed to turn back what he called a lost decade of [...]
Imperial to replace long standing finance chief September 12, 2013 IMPERIAL Tobacco has appointed the former vice chairman of KPMG as its new financial chief. Oliver Tant will step into the role on 5 November working alongside his predecessor, Bob Dyrbus, until he steps down on 31 December. Chairman of Imperial Tobacco Iain Napier said on Tant’s appointment, “He joins us with a proven track [...]
Telecoms firms gripe over EU roaming plan September 12, 2013 TELECOM executives reacted unenthusiastically yesterday to proposals for a revamp of EU regulation, because price caps and limits on roaming charges would hit their profits soon, while ideas they liked were less sure to be adopted. The European Commission unveiled reforms yesterday to foster a cross-border market for telecom services and spur investment in networks [...]
Desmond slams TV regulations September 12, 2013 NORTHERN & Shell founder Richard Desmond warned yesterday that public service broadcasters (PSBs) – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – are being over regulated in the current broadcasting marketplace. “I am fine with regulation where it is fair and flexible, but if it limits growth… and ultimately fails the viewer, then in [...]
Centaur racks up growing losses after writedown on its divisions September 12, 2013 BUSINESS to business publishing group Centaur Media reported losses yesterday of £37.4m for the year ending 30 June. The owner of The Lawyer and Marketing Week saw profits collapse after the company announced a non-cash impairment charge of £39.2m on its books. “We now have a sharper focus on markets and customers and a strong [...]
Trinity part of police probe September 12, 2013 POLICE are investigating whether Trinity Mirror is criminally liable for the alleged phone hacking by former Sunday Mirror journalists. Trinity said yesterday that the investigation by the London Met police into the journalists had been widened to include the publisher. “The group does not accept wrongdoing within its business and takes these allegations seriously,” Trinity [...]
Vinyl records stage a return September 12, 2013 MORE music might be moving online but even the world’s biggest internet retailer has felt the effects of the vinyl revival. Amazon’s UK website has seen sales of vinyl records more than double in the last year, albeit from a low base. The retail group said today that Daft Punk’s latest album, Random Access Memories, [...]
Dunkin’ Donuts plots a move to Britain with 50 London branches September 12, 2013 THE FORMER chairman of Ipswich Town FC is backing the return of Dunkin’ Donuts to British shores. The Court Group, chaired by football stalwart David Sheepshanks, has signed a franchise deal to open 25 coffee and doughnut restaurants in east London over the next five years, Dunkin’ said in a statement yesterday. The US-listed firm [...]
Watchdog lashes out at Network Rail for causing delays on trains September 12, 2013 NETWORK Rail is failing to keep the trains running on time while also falling short on its cost-cutting targets, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said yesterday. The regulator said Network Rail looks unlikely to hit its goal of cutting spending on operating, maintenance and renewals by 23.5 per cent by March 2014, the end [...]
Patagonia Gold’s losses narrow September 12, 2013 Argentina-focused miner Patagonia Gold yesterday posted pre-tax losses of $8.8m (£5.6m) for the first half of 2013, compared to $12.4m in the first half of 2012. The company had cash of $0.7m at the end of the period. “[The firm’s] cash position doesn’t fill one with confidence, although it did announce in July that its [...]
