AT&T battle with US regulators may drag on for years September 1, 2011 AN epic court battle between the US government and AT&T is set to dominate the telecoms landscape, with sources close to the network saying it will not accept regulators blocking its $39bn (£24bn) bid for T-Mobile USA. AT&T’s general counsel said it plans to seek an expedited hearing from the judge. But the firm faces an [...]
IBM buys software firm September 1, 2011 IBM has agreed to buy Toronto-based risk analytics software firm Algorithmics for $387m (£240m) in cash to enhance its financial services capabilities. The computing giant said the deal, which is expected to close before the end of October, expands its business analytics capabilities by helping clients manage financial risk. Algorithmics’ risk analytics software, content and [...]
Monitise doubles its revenues but shares falter on mounting losses September 1, 2011 MONITISE doubled its full-year revenues but failed to inspire the market yesterday as its shares slid 2.7 per cent. The mobile payments firm declared the last 12 months a “breakthrough year” despite increasing its pre-tax loss from £17m to £17.2m. It increased its revenues from £6m to £14m. The firm said the slightly bigger loss [...]
HTC predicts strong end to year September 1, 2011 HTC, the world’s fifth-biggest maker of smartphones, sees a strong end to the year as consumer demand for its latest gadgets defies macro-economic worries, a company executive said. “I am confident on Q3. We see a strong Q4,” Florian Seiche, head of HTC business in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in an interview on [...]
Vodafone Greek merger cheered September 1, 2011 Vodafone regained some lost ground yesterday as the market appeared to warm to its deal to merge its Greek operations with a rival. It is in talks to fully merge with Wind Hellas in a deal that would create a duopoly in Greece. Analysts say Vodafone would achieve substantial savings through the tie-up as well [...]
LONG ISLAND COMES TO THE CITY IN CLUB FOR DISCERNING DINERS September 1, 2011 GERALD RONSON and his business partner Enzo Quaradeghini spent 12 years building up their joint restaurant and bar interests in Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid, including the Irish pub O’Sullivans and a 3,500-capacity club called Guru. But now the Heron International boss and the restaurateur have sold off their Spanish assets, Quaradeghini is free to devote [...]
Commuters drive profits at Go-Ahead September 1, 2011 GO-AHEAD, the rail and bus company, has posted better than expected profits, helped by a shift to public transport as high petrol prices keep drivers off the roads. The group, whose GoVia joint venture with France’s Keolis operates the South-Eastern, London Midland and Southern rail franchises, said pre-tax profits rose 11 per cent to £97.6m [...]
Smiths arm names new boss September 1, 2011 SMITHS Group’s troubled detection division, which supplies detectors for explosives and drugs, has appointed a new president. Mal Maginnis, who currently leads the division’s management group, will replace Stephen Phipson, who left in May after the group admitted that trading had “fallen short of the board’s expectations”. Announcing its interim results in March, the FTSE [...]
Shell selling its stake in Norway firm for £455m September 1, 2011 OIL major Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its interests in natural gas transport infrastructure joint venture Gassled to Infragas Norge AS for 3,925m Norwegian crowns (£454.7m), as Shell continues its process of divesting non-core assets. Gassled operates Norway’s integrated gas transportation system and processing facilities, moving most of the gas production on the [...]
OFT renews its probe of Ryanair deal September 1, 2011 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading has resumed its investigation into Ryanair’s minority stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus and said it expected to reach a decision by the end of next month. The move, which Ryanair slammed as “unnecessary” and “damaging”, is part of an OFT probe into whether Ryanair’s 30 per cent holding in [...]
