Tech City gets law firm boost October 23, 2011 LAW firm Taylor Wessing is set to become the first professional services firm to join the east London Tech City project. The company will open a dedicated office there, from which it hopes to attract business from the growing technology hub. Taylor Wessing says it already acts for a number of the fastest growing technology [...]
Auditors quit over Olympus payments October 23, 2011 KPMG, the auditors of the British medical equipment company at the heart of the Olympus scandal, quit last year over a series of mysterious payments made to the Cayman Islands. Last week, Olympus’ former chief executive turned whistleblower Michael Woodford sent the technology firm’s share price plummeting after claiming he was fired after questioning $1.3bn [...]
Hungarians protest at cuts October 23, 2011 Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in central Budapest yesterday against the centre-right government, demanding more transparent legislation and protection for the country’s free-market democracy. The rally was timed to coincide with the 55th anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 revolt against Soviet rule. Protesters, organised mainly through Facebook, came from a loose alliance of liberal intellectuals [...]
TUNISIANS FLOCK TO VOTE IN FIRST ELECTION October 23, 2011 Tunisians flocked to the country’s first democratic election yesterday, with officials estimating 90 per cent of the 4.1m people registered to vote turned out at the polls, as well as many who had not registered in advance. Even Nejib Chebbi (left), head and founder of Tunisia’s Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) waited in line.
Kesa mulls move to quit London listing October 23, 2011 KESA Electricals is considering quitting the London Stock Exchange in favour of a Paris listing once it has sold its troubled Comet business. Moving the group to France would help it to avoid constant comparisons with Britain’s retail sector, a shift some major shareholders would view as beneficial. It could also change its name to [...]
Paranormal 3 jolts box office October 23, 2011 Horror movie “Paranormal Activity 3” jolted awake a sleepy movie box office with an estimated $80m (£50.2m) in global ticket sales over the weekend. The third instalment of the low-budget haunted house movies topped domestic charts with $54m from US and Canadian theatres, the highest-grossing domestic debut for a horror film and a record for [...]
City of London calls in lawyers over St Paul’s campers as disruptions enter second week October 23, 2011 THE City of London has vowed to get tough with protesters camping outside St Paul’s as the Occupy LSX movement enters its second week. A crunch meeting today will see the City of London Corporation meet with representatives of the cathedral and lawyers to discuss how to close down the makeshift commune. A spokesman for [...]
Knight Frank partners share £73m bonus pool October 23, 2011 PARTNERS in the upmarket estate agent Knight Frank have landed a £73m payout after profits rose by 10 per cent in the last financial year, buoyed by foreign investors flocking to London’s luxury property market. The firm, which advises on both residential and commercial property deals, saw pre-tax profits rise to £101.9m in the year [...]
Panasonic to cut its output October 23, 2011 Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp will scale back domestic semiconductor output by the end of March 2012 and cut about 1,000 jobs, reflecting its recent move to reduce TV panel production, the Nikkei business daily said yesterday. All of the firm’s five domestic chip-manufacturing facilities will cut output. The firm is struggling to compete with [...]
Swiss unions want weaker franc October 23, 2011 Swiss trade union and business groups pressed the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to weaken the franc further to support struggling exporters, the head of Swiss industry lobby group Swissmem said yesterday. Representatives from Swiss trade union Unia and Swissmem held a meeting at the Swiss National Bank last week.
