Camelot tempts HR Owen boss October 3, 2011 Former Channel 4 supremo Andy Duncan has quit luxury car-seller HR Owen after less than a year to take up the role of UK managing director of lottery operator Camelot. HR Owen has been hit by the economic downturn, with the market for super cars made by the likes of Ferrari, Bentley and Bugatti diminishing. He [...]
Harry Potter’s website delayed October 3, 2011 THE LAUNCH of the highly anticipated Harry Potter website Pottermore has been delayed after a test version of the site experienced higher than expected traffic. The site will host the first e-book editions of the boy wizard’s tales and is expected to be a financial boon for its author JK Rowling and publisher Bloomsbury. Meanwhile, Warner [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO THE FIGURES MEAN FOR AVANTI? October 3, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC Avanti has posted weak contract order backlog growth. There are positive comments about demand being there and in the pipeline, but the contract order backlog has barely moved in six months. On preliminary reading, we see nothing to get too enthused about. Hold maintained. JULIAN MORSE | CENKOS Avanti has delivered [...]
Hearst UK magazine profits soar October 3, 2011 The Soho-based publisher behind glossy magazines including Esquire and Good Housekeeping bucked the industry trend yesterday, reporting a spike in profits and revenues. Hearst Magazines UK saw profits surge an astonishing 800 per cent to £12.4m, with revenues rising 4.3 per cent to £310m. The remarkable turnaround follows a £42.8m loss in 2009, when the [...]
Ofcom takes postal responsibility October 3, 2011 Ofcom yesterday took regulatory responsibility for the UK postal services. The media watchdog says it has worked closely with Postcomm to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities with “minimal disruption for industry and users”. Ofcom says it will publish proposals on the framework for economic regulation of post later this month. The government handed the [...]
Napster and Rhapsody team up October 3, 2011 Two of the longest-running names in digital music, Rhapsody and Napster, are combining. Rhapsody, which is the largest US digital music service with 800,000 subscribers, said yesterday it would take over Napster, which is currently owned by retailer Best Buy, in a stock-based deal for an undisclosed sum. Napster, founded as a file-sharing site before [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 3, 2011 Palamon Capital Partners The private equity firm has appointed Julian Carreras as a principal in its pan-European team, which comprises professionals from eight countries. The move marks a return to the company for Carreras, who previously worked at Palamon Capital Partners between 2003 and 2006, joining from Goldman Sachs. Between 2006 and 2011, Carreras held [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 3, 2011 COOKSON UBS upgrades the materials science company from “sell” to “neutral” with an unchanged target price of 430p. The broker says the company’s valuation has dropped to such a point that it is difficult to see much further downside, but still sees competitive pressure in China Flow Control as a risk. Long-term organic growth is [...]
Banks and mining stock fall on fear over Greece and Asia October 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index began the final quarter of 2011 on a downbeat note as investors trimmed positions in banks and miners on familiar concerns over Greece’s debt problems and worries about growth in Asia. A 2012 draft budget approved by Greece’s cabinet on Sunday predicted a deficit of 8.5 per cent of gross domestic [...]
Wall Street slumps to a 13-month low October 3, 2011 US stocks slumped in heavy volume to a 13-month low yesterday as investors dumped bank shares on fears that Greece’s worsening financial crisis could cause a large European lender to fail. Investors pegged losses to the sharp fall in Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia, which fell 10 per cent after a Moody’s warning about its liquidity [...]
