Super Bowl XLIX 2015 $4.5m ads retain the crown as most expensive on earth February 1, 2015 The Super Bowl last night retained the title as having the most expensive television advertising slots in the world as advertisers lined up to spend an average of $4.5m (£2.98m) for a 30-second slot during the show. With an expected US audience of over 110m, with many more millions watching around the world, Budweiser, Dove, [...]
CRH wins battle for Holcim and Lafarge assets February 1, 2015 Irish building materials firm CRH has confirmed that it has won the race to acquire the assets being sold off by cement giants Holcim and Lafarge. The company announced yesterday that it had entered into a binding commitment to acquire “certain assets, incorporating some perimeter changes from the assets referred to last week”, from the [...]
HSS IPO: Tool hire firm aims to defy nervous markets with healthy retail investor base February 1, 2015 Tool hire firm HSS will endeavour to cover the book today in its stock market flotation, with sources close to the deal staying confident despite nervous markets. The FTSE has had a slow start to 2015, and volatility in autumn 2014 hit some floats. In addition, some institutions have told City A.M. HSS is over-priced [...]
Plunging oil price halts Red Sea deepwater exploration February 1, 2015 The UK’s North Sea oilfields are not the only area where companies are facing a squeeze following the plunging price of crude. Oil giant Saudi Aramco said last night that it has put on hold its activities in the Red Sea. The state-owned company is understood to have halted its oil and gas exploration and [...]
Dixons Carphone signs deal with Hutchison Whampoa’s Three to offer mobile services February 1, 2015 DIXONS Carphone has struck an agreement with network provider Three to offer mobile services that will also seek to help customers link up their devices and appliances. Under the terms of the agreement with Three’s owner Hutchison Whampoa, the company will offer mobile contracts that will let customers tailor their price, minutes and data to [...]
Harbury embankment landslide knocks out line on London-bound route between Leamington Spa and Banbury February 1, 2015 Train passengers travelling between Leamington Spa and Banbury face chaos this week after a major landslide closed the London-bound commuter artery. The incident, which occurred at 3pm on Saturday in the Harbury area, deposited mud and rock onto the line. Around 350,000 tonnes of material now needs to be removed. Passengers will face disruption on [...]
Jane Ellison and Tessa Munt: Meet the female MPs fighting against fracking and tobacco February 1, 2015 In recent days two female politicians have been at the forefront of fights against major industries. Jane Ellison, the Conservative public health minister, is helping lead the government’s charge for obligatory plain packaging of cigarettes, and Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt resigned her role as an advisor to Vince Cable after voting against the government’s [...]
Powell pitch to young voters February 1, 2015 ED MILIBAND’S campaign chief Lucy Powell has called on Labour to engage with young voters, urging activists to take their campaign to “the pubs and the clubs and so on”. In an interview on the Sky News Murnaghan programme, Powell also said that her party had to get their message on to social media to [...]
Francis Maude decides to stand down after 2015 general election February 1, 2015 Tory MP Francis Maude has announced that he is standing down from Parliament. First elected as an MP for North Warwickshire in 1983, he was a minister in the Department of Trade and Industry and then the Treasury before losing his seat. Maude returned as MP for Horsham in 1997, and was Shadow Chancellor and [...]
Ingenious hits back at tax avoidance criticism of celebrity film investment scheme February 1, 2015 Ingenious has hit back at critics of its film investment scheme after more celebrities were named as having received tax breaks from investing in the plan, through rules brought in by Labour. A spokesman for Ingenious said: “Ingenious film partnerships run by Ingenious Media have already generated over £1bn in taxable income for the UK [...]
