Oracle eyed up BlackBerry buy April 17, 2012 ORACLE considered building its own smartphone to compete with Apple and Google, but decided it was a “bad idea” after a weeks-long cost and market analysis, chief exec Larry Ellison said yesterday. Oracle had pondered at one point buying Blackberry-maker Research in Motion, he added. On the second day of a legal battle between Oracle [...]
Merv: stability, not money, is my motivation April 17, 2012 WITH all the talk of who will succeed Sir Mervyn King at the Bank of England (kicked off by this paper last week), the governor is wasting no time in setting up things for his retirement next year. A source gets in touch to let The Capitalist know that Merv was spotted strolling along the [...]
Prepare for the Diageo trophy April 17, 2012 DRINKS group Diageo, the financial public relations agency Tulchan, and a number of media outlets are signing up for the Diageo City Challenge – a five-a-side football tournament taking place on 20 May at the Bank of England Sports Centre in Roehampton. All proceeds will be going to the Stroke Association. Last year’s event saw [...]
A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE CITY April 17, 2012 THERE’S plenty of construction work going on in the City, especially in the area immediately west of Bank station, where vast tracts of land have been given over to building sites. These cranes (pictured above) are opposite the Lloyd’s of London building.
Exchange firm Plus Markets considers bids April 17, 2012 BRITISH markets operator Plus Markets, the junior stock exchange that is home to Arsenal football club, says it has received “a number of indicative proposals” since it put itself up for sale earlier this year. In a short statement the firm said that the sale process, announced on 3 February, was progressing. Interested parties have [...]
Car sales slump in Europe but Britain enjoys a revival in March April 17, 2012 EUROPEAN car sales fell for a sixth straight month in March, industry data showed yesterday, as the deepening slump in France and Italy outweighed a fragile recovery in Germany and Britain. Registrations dropped 6.6 per cent to 1.5m cars across the EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland – their lowest March level since 1998, the [...]
Coalition catastrophes: has the government lost the plot? April 17, 2012 The coalition government has been hit by sustained criticism since it delivered its Budget last month. New taxes on conservatories and pasties were pasted, as were plans to cap the tax relief on charity donations and losses. What do you think? Is the government suffering from mid-term blues, or has it lost its way? To [...]
BNP Paribas shakes up London sites April 17, 2012 BNP Paribas has revealed plans to bring its London staff, currently scattered across the capital, into two sites in the centre of town. The French bank said yesterday its corporate and investment banking business will be based in Harewood Avenue in Marylebone. It moved to the street in 1997 and bought more space there two [...]
ALDGATE HOTEL GETS THE GO-AHEAD April 17, 2012 THE DEVELOPERS of a new hotel near Aldgate have won planning permission for their 23-storey project, having failed to get the go-ahead in 2009. Planning consultant Barton Willmore and David Miller Architects, which are developing the hotel on behalf of Pinehill Capital, said the 251-bedroom hotel will have more public space under the revised plans. [...]
Central London office take-up stays sluggish April 17, 2012 LEASING activity in the City and West office market remained sluggish in the first quarter of 2012 as tough economic conditions continued to dampen appetite for new space, according to research by Knight Frank. The property agent said take-up in the West End stood at 1m square feet in the quarter, down from 1.3m sq [...]
