Insolvency down as large firms perform strongly September 29, 2011 FEWER businesses failed in August than in any month since February, Experian revealed today. Experian’s insolvency index shows the rate of insolvencies fell to 0.08 per cent of businesses. That compares to a rate of 0.07 per cent in August 2010. In absolute terms 1,391 firms became insolvent in the month, an increase of 12.37 [...]
Nokia to axe 3,500 jobs as cost cuts bite September 29, 2011 EMBATTLED phonemaker Nokia yesterday announced it will slash 3,500 more jobs, including the closure of a major factory in Romania. The cuts are on top of at least 4,000 job losses announced earlier this year. Chief executive Stephen Elop is desperately trying to spin the wheel of the Titanic in the face of falling profits and [...]
Vodafone pens deal with Swiss network September 29, 2011 Vodafone has extended its partnership with Swisscom in a bid to support its business and international customers and to keep down purchasing costs. Vodafone said the partnership with Switzerland’s dominant phone company would enable them to jointly procure phones, network equipment, service platforms and other necessary infrastructure. It would also help the two companies to [...]
Mitie clinches MoJ contracts September 29, 2011 OUTSOURCING group Mitie said yesterday it has won two new contracts with the Ministry of Justice worth up to £455m. Mitie said the facilities management work for courts in the south of England as wells as for Brixton and Isis prisons will run for five years, with a possible two-year extension. The deal follows on [...]
Sales increase at Theo Fennell September 29, 2011 THEO Fennell, the Aim-listed jeweller worn by Naomi Campbell and Elton John, has posted a nine per cent rise in sales in the first half of 2011, but remains cautious ahead of its peak trading period. The company has launched a number of new collections in preparation for the peak Christmas sales period, but said [...]
Peppa Pig’s US jaunt boosts owner EntOne September 29, 2011 PEPPA Pig’s push into the US has helped ensure Entertainment One’s first-half earnings will be significantly ahead of last year, the firm said yesterday. The media production and distribution company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, jumped 20 per cent earlier this month on speculation it has hired banks to field interest [...]
Moonpig founder to head Ark September 29, 2011 JUST a month after collecting a paper windfall of up to £40m from the sale Moonpig, Nick Jenkins has been named chief executive of charity Ark. The millionaire former Glencore commodities trader will be tasked with developing relationships with philanthropists to fund Ark’s programmes in Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, the UK and India. Jenkins has [...]
BOOMING INDIAN FILM MARKET BOOSTS EROS September 29, 2011 BOLLYWOOD movie distributor Eros International said it expected its full-year results to beat current market expectations, driven by strong performances from film titles like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Won’t Get Life Again) and Ready. Eros said it expected the strong first-half performance to continue in the second half, with a line-up that is expected [...]
Thomson Reuters to issue notes September 29, 2011 MEDIA conglomerate Thomson Reuters has announced it will offer $350m (£223m) of 10 year notes to refinance borrowings used to repay a recently expired bond issue. Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank Securities, JP Morgan Securities and RBS Securities are the joint book-running managers for the offering. The offering is expected to close on 5 October, the [...]
Things will only get worse for Labour until they discuss voters’ inflation concerns September 29, 2011 AS LABOUR gathered in Liverpool for its party conference this week, one of their top priorities was to fashion a message on the dominant issue in British politics today: the economy. They failed. FISCAL FAILURE On the fiscal side, the shadow chancellor Ed Balls, unveiled an economic recovery package that seemed like it had been [...]
