Ericsson takes huge writedown on venture to cap woeful year December 20, 2012 ERICSSON, the Swedish telecoms giant, yesterday took an 8bn Swedish krona (£754m) writedown over its ST-Ericsson joint venture, in a bid to limit exposure to it after partner STMicroelectronics decided to pull out. ST-Ericsson, which makes chips and other components for mobile phone manufacturers, has suffered since it came into being in 2009, partly down [...]
Government to legalise CD copying December 20, 2012 CD and DVD owners will be able to copy content onto computers and music players legally for the first time under new proposals. Business minister Vince Cable said “bringing the law into line with ordinary people’s reasonable expectations will boost respect for copyright”. The rules apply as long as copying is for personal use.
Saucy new job for ex-Clifford Chance lawyer December 20, 2012 THE LAWYER to foodie career move must be a relatively uncommon one, or so The Capitalist thought. City A.M. reported earlier this month on SJ Berwin tax solicitor Lucy Gregory jumping off the legal career ladder to pursue a vocation in cheesemongery. Now another legal bod has achieved entrepreneurial success in the food industry. Helen [...]
Festive intruders in Heron Tower’s fish tank December 20, 2012 Visitors at the City’s Heron Tower cannot miss the giant fish tank residing in the lobby. The aquarium is the largest privately owned one of its kind in Britain, and home to 67 different species of fish. It was also home to two festive guests on Wednesday, when divers donning Santa suits entered to give [...]
Female drivers feel the pinch as insurance premiums rise today December 20, 2012 YOUNG women drivers are set to see substantial rises in the amount they pay for car insurance from today, after a new EU ruling came into force. Last year the European Court of Justice ruled that it was discriminatory to charge people different amounts for insurance products based on their gender. “The new rules are [...]
City Views | Are the new car insurance rules fair? December 20, 2012 JEN HAWES-HEWITT ACCENTURE No, not really. I think it is fair to let insurance companies assess their risk. I do not quite see it as discrimination. It will just make things more blunt, and that does not benefit the consumers. DANIEL BLYTON RPS No, I do not really think it is fair. You have different [...]
Former Lloyds wholesale boss joins ANZ in US December 20, 2012 TRUETT Tate, Lloyds TSB’s former global head of wholesale and international banking, is going to head up the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s (ANZ) New York office as chief executive and head of institutional relationship banking America, it was announced yesterday. Tate will take up his new post from 1 February 2013. He resigned [...]
Energy firms urged to lift lid on prices December 20, 2012 THE UK’s Big Six energy companies should be forced to reveal how much energy they have bought and sold from themselves, in a bid to increase transparency and customer trust, MPs said yesterday. The Energy and Climate Change Committee, headed by Conservative MP Tim Yeo, said there was not enough information about suppliers’ wholesale arrangement, [...]
Providence in landmark year December 20, 2012 ■ Irish-focused Providence Resources yesterday hailed a “landmark” year for its drilling programme. Earlier this year, Providence struck oil at the Barryroe oil field, with flow rates of 3,514 barrels a day. The junior stock market-listed firm spent up to $500m (£307m) on this year’s drilling programme, in six basins offshore Ireland. Providence plans to [...]
WPP continues shopping spree December 20, 2012 ■ WPP has purchased a majority stake in Australian digital communications firm Bienalto for an undisclosed sum. The FTSE 100 ad giant’s acquisition is the latest in a shopping spree, which also includes Chinese communications agency ArtM and entertainment marketing agency Filmworks China. WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has set a target of 35-40 per [...]
