Vodafone Australia and TPG shares crash after regulator blocks merger in website blunder May 8, 2019 Australia’s competition regulator has blocked a proposed AU$15bn (£8.1bn) merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Australia after a botched announcement that sent shares crashing. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last year launched a probe into the planned deal, warning it may harm competition in the country’s telecoms market, and was due to publish [...]
Government’s digital identification system Verify is ‘failing users’ May 8, 2019 The government’s flagship digital identification programme is failing users and has not delivered value for money, according to a damning new report. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the Verify programme, which it said has been hampered by a catalogue of problems and has failed to deliver the benefits originally promised. Read more: "Grave [...]
Axel Springer profits plunge as it looks to refocus on classifieds business May 7, 2019 German media group Axel Springer has posted a sharp drop in first-quarter profits, as strong trading in its online classifieds business failed to offset a decline in news media. Read more: Virgin Media grows customer base amid superfast broadband rollout The figures Net profit dropped by 35 per cent to €55.4m (£47.4m) in the first [...]
Vodafone signs broadband deal with Telefonica Deutschland amid competition probe May 7, 2019 Vodafone will grant Telefonica Deutschland access to its broadband network in a bid to stave off competition concerns over its $22bn (£16.8bn) takeover of Liberty Global assets. The telecoms firm today said rival Telefonica will be able to market broadband services to its customers using the combined cable network of Vodafone and Liberty’s Utilitymedia if [...]
Virgin Media grows customer base amid superfast broadband rollout May 7, 2019 Virgin Media has posted a solid set of results for the first quarter as it focuses its efforts on a £3bn plan to rollout superfast broadband across the UK. Read more: Vodafone calls on German government to speed up fibre optic rollout The figures First-quarter revenue remained flat on the previous year at £1.3bn. Operating [...]
Purplebricks shares drop after founder Michael Bruce steps down May 7, 2019 Shares in online estate agent Purplebricks fell as much as eight per cent in early trading after it revealed founder and chief executive Michael Bruce is stepping down. Purplebricks said Bruce has resigned with immediate effect and will be replaced by chief operating officer Vic Darvey. Read more: Shares in Purplebricks plummet as UK and [...]
Domino’s suffers big dip in shares as it warns on international sales May 7, 2019 Shares in Domino’s Pizza fell seven per cent this morning after the firm warned it will no longer break even in its international division. Read more: Domino's Pizza hits back at reports it misled the City over franchisee row The figures Domino’s group sales rose 4.3 per cent to £324.4m. UK and Republic of Ireland [...]
BMW profits crash 76 per cent as it gears up for €1.4bn EU antitrust fine May 7, 2019 German car manufacturer BMW has posted a steep fall in first-quarter profits after it put aside €1.4bn (£1.2bn) for a possible EU antitrust fine. Read more: BMW flashes warning lights as mounting costs hit forecasts The figures Group revenues slipped a marginal 0.9 per cent to €22.5bn in the first quarter. Pre-tax profit plunged 76 [...]
Asian markets bounce back amid US trade threats to China May 7, 2019 Asian stocks bounced back in morning trading, a day after an escalation in the trade war between the US and China sparked a sharp sell-off. Read more: Car maker shares fall on Trump's Chinese tariff hike threats China’s CSI 300 index ticked up just over one per cent in early trading, after dropping almost six [...]
The man who would be king: Why adland’s El Presidente has ‘zero fear’ of getting fired May 4, 2019 Looking back, Eduardo Maruri is glad he didn’t run for president. The Ecuadorian, now 52 years old, claims he had a good chance of being elected in his home country, but ultimately did not feel he was in a position to pull off the role. “You’re only president once, so you have to make sure [...]
