BSkyB says it is still fit to broadcast May 2, 2012 BSKYB yesterday defended itself against mounting political pressure over its biggest shareholder News Corp, insisting that it remains a “fit and proper” British broadcaster. News Corp also leapt into defence mode yesterday following a bruising parliamentary report on phone hacking at its subsidiaries. Its directors stated their “full confidence in Rupert Murdoch’s fitness and support [...]
Heathrow’s border staff set to walk out on strike May 2, 2012 THE MAMMOTH queues at Heathrow passport control could get even longer next week, when UK Border Force staff walk out on strike. The government confirmed last night that more than 4,000 members of the Immigration Services Union are joining public sector workers in a national strike over pensions on Thursday 10 May, leaving Britain’s airports [...]
Mervyn King should have hiked rates to deflate the bubble May 2, 2012 SIR Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, is not one for mea culpas. His speech last night was an extraordinary defence of his record in office – and a largely unfair attack on his detractors, ignoring their intellectual arguments and questioning their motives. He did admit that he should have done more [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Airline levy could aid UK border Two Democratic senators have turned up the political pressure on News Corp, reviving questions about whether a scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers could jump the Atlantic. Sen Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia has written to Lord Justice Leveson asking for any evidence that “troubling and sometimes [...]
CBI: slump will make Osborne miss debt goal May 2, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S budget deficit will go up, not down as planned, this year because of the new recession, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned yesterday. Borrowing will rise to £128.2bn in 2012-13, the respected business group said, £8bn higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects and £2.2bn above the £126bn borrowed in [...]
BP settlement gets initial nod May 2, 2012 ■ A US federal judge has given preliminary approval to a proposed class-action settlement that would resolve billions of dollars in claims against BP over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. US District judge Carl Barbier’s ruling yesterday allows the settlement process to proceed, but he will hold a “fairness hearing” later this year [...]
Zoellick defends World Bank role May 2, 2012 ■ Outgoing World Bank President Robert Zoellick last night gave an impassioned defence of the institution he has run for five years and urged his successor to focus on developing countries as clients rather than aid recipients. “We’re beyond a model of charity to poor people,” Zoellick said “If you just take the US, four [...]
Bid fears as top telco investor puts up a fight May 2, 2012 SHARES in Cable & Wireless Worldwide dropped by six per cent yesterday morning as investors agonised over the prospect of Vodafone’s £1.04bn takeover bid. Orbis Investment Management, CWW’s biggest shareholder with a 19 per cent stake, reiterated its discontent with Vodafone’s 38p per share offer for the ailing cable company. When Vodafone last week tabled [...]
Carlyle Group raises $671m as it lowers IPO price ahead of listing May 2, 2012 GLOBAL asset management firm Carlyle Group lowered its IPO price ahead of its Nasdaq debut today. Last night Carlyle, which has about $147bn in assets under management, priced its flotation at $22 a share, falling short of the $23-$25 range initially touted. Carlyle raised $671m from the sale of about 10 per cent of its [...]
Samsung soars past rivals to top the tables May 2, 2012 THE DECLINE of Nokia’s prominence as the top mobile phone maker was emphasised yesterday in a report from the International Data Corporation, which showed that Samsung has pipped the creator of the eponymous ringtone to the coveted top spot. Samsung shipped 93.8m mobile phones in the first quarter of this year, soaring past Nokia whose shipments [...]
