Ian Livingston: the turnaround king November 3, 2011 THE TURNAROUND of BT Group under Ian Livingston has been nothing short of remarkable. When he became chief executive in 2008, its IT services arm Global Services was a basket case that threatened the very survival of the entire group. In an attempt to steal a share of big contracts from established rivals such as [...]
C&W Communications gets boost from sales of iPhones November 3, 2011 CABLE & WIRELESS Communications has said booming demand for smartphones pushed it to a forecast-beating first half profit of $163m (£102m), a nine per cent year-on-year spike. Its stock closed up 7.5 per cent after soaring as much as 15 per cent, paring back some of the losses it has made since its demerger from [...]
Pearson raises its guidance November 3, 2011 Publishing group Pearson yesterday said it was confident in its outlook despite weakness in its key US textbook market. The owner of the world’s largest education business, Penguin Books and the Financial Times said sales were up six per cent and operating profit up 13 per cent but declined to give a full set of [...]
WPP sells $500m of notes November 3, 2011 Advertising giant WPP yesterday raised $500m through the sale of 10-year senior unsecured bonds. It is understood the company will use the proceeds to refinance its existing debt. Barclays Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland are thought to have led the sale, with BNP Paribas and Citigroup co-managing. The [...]
SVG sees assets shrink November 3, 2011 SVG Capital, the biggest backer of private equity house Permira, said its assets tumbled 14.5 per cent in the third quarter after the value of its investments plummeted. SVG said its net asset value was 336.7p at the end of the quarter, the first time it has declined since 2009. However, the figure was still better [...]
LinkedIn posts a loss but its revenues jump 126pc November 3, 2011 PROFESSIONAL networking company LinkedIn last night posted a third-quarter net loss but raised its full-year outlook after it posted a 126 per cent rise in third-quarter revenue. LinkedIn, in its first update since going public in May, said it now expects to report adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the year [...]
Groupon prices above top end of IPO range November 3, 2011 DAILY deals site Groupon has priced shares in its initial public offering at $20, above the initial range after seeing strong demand, a market source said last night. The company sold 35m shares for $20 each, raising $700m (£436m), the source said. Groupon is understood to have raised both the price and the quantity in [...]
Head of NYSE Euronext hits out at EU tax November 3, 2011 The chief executive of NYSE Euronext, which is pursuing a $9bn (£5.6bn) merger with Deutsche Boerse, yesterday urged European lawmakers to step back from the idea of a financial transaction tax, saying it would encourage regulatory arbitrage. Duncan Niederauer said the proposed levy on financial transactions would force companies to “behave in an extraterritorial way”. [...]
Freddie Mac sees $4.4bn loss November 3, 2011 MORTGAGE giant Freddie Mac said yesterday it will seek an extra $6bn (£3.7bn) from US taxpayers following its worst quarterly loss this year. The US government-owned company reported a comprehensive loss in the third quarter of $4.4bn, it said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That compared with a $2.5bn loss [...]
Consumer anxiety curbs sales at US chain stores November 3, 2011 TOP US store chains reported disappointing October sales yesterday, showing that consumers across the income spectrum were anxious about the state of the economy as they began their holiday shopping. Overall, the 23 major US-based retailers that report monthly results posted an average 3.4 per cent gain in sales at stores open at least a [...]
