Facebook is red faced after hiring PR firm to hit Google May 12, 2011 FACEBOOK has been caught hiring a PR firm to place negative stories in the press about its bitter rival Google. WPP-owned firm Burson-Marsteller admitted it “undertook an assignment” for Facebook that involved urging a respected US blogger to investigate Google’s privacy policy. Burson-Marsteller said it would help him to place the article in national news [...]
Bernanke warns on US debt bargaining May 12, 2011 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned US lawmakers yesterday that using the country’s national debt limit as a political tool risks a fresh financial crisis. Republicans have threatened to oppose lifting the $14.3 trillion (£8.8 trillion) ceiling on US sovereign debt. “It is a risky approach. The worst outcome would be one in which the [...]
J&J may face $1bn fine for mis-selling May 12, 2011 HEALTHCARE giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) faces a fine of about $1bn (£609m) to settle a US probe into whether it illegally marketed its high-selling antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Such a fine would be one of the biggest penalties imposed on a pharmaceutical company for marketing drugs for non-approved uses. The US government has been investigating [...]
BT profits up as pension deficit dives May 12, 2011 BT saw its full-year profits surge as bumper broadband additions helped push pre-tax profits up an eye-watering 71 per cent yesterday. Revenues fell four per cent to £20.1bn as chief executive Ian Livingston continues to spin the wheel of the telecoms super-tanker, with sales growth expected in 2013. Adjusted pre tax profits for the year [...]
Takeda in $14bn Nycomed bid May 12, 2011 JAPAN’S largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceuticals was last night locked in talks with Swiss rival Nycomed as it tried to secure a $14bn (£8.6bn) deal in a desperate bid to diversify its revenues. The deal, the second-largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company, could be secured as soon as next week, according to sources close [...]
Great cost cutting – but show me the growth May 12, 2011 IAN Livingston is incredibly good at cost cutting, which is just as well. The no-nonsense Scot has removed some £2.8bn of costs in the last two years alone. That is exactly what the firm needed after former chief executive Ben Verwaayen, who won a huge amount of business at the expense of margins and profits. [...]
IMF says euro crisis could spread to core May 12, 2011 DESPITE bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Europe’s debt crisis may yet spread to core Eurozone countries and emerging eastern Europe, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. The warning came as government sources in Athens said international inspectors checking on Greece’s compliance with its EU/IMF rescue package had found problems and were pressing for [...]
UK warned of headwinds from early cuts May 12, 2011 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday praised George Osborne’s plan to reduce the bulk of the UK deficit by 2015 but warned of “stronger headwinds” for the economy due to front-loaded spending cuts. “Despite some support from the depreciated pound and a rapid unfreezing of past investment decisions, stronger headwinds from a front-loaded fiscal strategy [...]
Dixons vows cost cuts as sales fall off May 12, 2011 DIXONS Retail, owner of Currys and PC World, yesterday said the group’s annual sales had fallen but predicted that its £50m cuts programme would help to turn the business around. Sales for the year to 30 April fell two per cent as the tough consumer environment took its toll. Like-for-like sales for the group’s UK [...]
SuperGroup suffers growth slowdown on stocking delays May 12, 2011 SUPERGROUP, the British company behind the rapidly-expanding Superdry fashion brand, has reported a slowdown in its phenomenal sales growth, prompting a substantial drop in its share price. Shares in SuperGroup slumped by 22 per cent after it said total sales had increased by 61 per cent to £66m in the three months to 1 May. [...]
