iPad 2 cheaper than the first March 22, 2011 APPLE yesterday announced its latest iPad, which will go on sale on Friday, will be cheaper than the original. The iPad 2 will start at £399 including tax for the 16GB model – £30 cheaper than its predecessor. The 32GB and 64GB models will cost £479 and £559, with 3G costing an extra £100, although [...]
Sprint boss says AT&T bid will harm competition March 22, 2011 SPRINT boss Dan Hesse has blasted the proposed $39bn (£24bn) merger between rivals AT&T and T-Mobile USA, saying it would stifle innovation and hit consumers. He said the deal would mean the top two players – the newly merged venture and Verizon Wireless – would control 79 per cent of the market. Hesse said: “I [...]
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? March 22, 2011 Q.What is spectrum and why do we need it? A.Spectrum is the radio waves that mobile signals are broadcast over. It comes in different frequencies which are useful for different tasks – some work well for voice calls and other parts for data usage such as mobile video. It is increasingly important for operators to [...]
WPP buys Vietnamese agency March 22, 2011 WPP yesterday announced the acquisition of Vietnamese digital agency Who Digital. The world’s biggest advertising agency plans to form a joint venture in the country with OgilvyOne, in which it will take a majority stake. Who Digital, which has assets of around £400,000, has clients including Unilever, Megastar, HSBC, Baoviet and Sony Ericsson. The acquisition [...]
CVC invests $269m in First Media March 22, 2011 Private equity firm CVC will invest $269m (£164m) in the cable TV and internet business of Indonesia’s First Media. First Media, controlled by the Lippo Group, said CVC will get a 49 per cent stake in Link Net, a unit that provides high-speed internet, cable pay TV and data communication services. The deal marks the [...]
INM profits up but warns on ads March 22, 2011 Independent News & Media (INM) warned revenues will remain flat this year despite posting a 14 per cent rise in underlying operating profit for 2010. It said it expects earnings to improve in the year ahead despite the tough advertising conditions. Excluding disposals and the deconsolidation of Australia’s APN News & Media, in which INM [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 22, 2011 BNP Paribas Asset Management Gilles Guérin has been appointed chief executive of the asset manager’s recently formed Partner THEAM. In this role, he will manage THEAM, which combines BNP Paribas asset management’s SIGMA team and those of BNP Paribas CIB’s Harewood Asset Management. THEAM specialises in index, active systematic, guaranteed and alternative investment solutions. Guérin [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 22, 2011 SCOR UBS has upgraded the reinsurer to “buy” and has raised its target price to €23 from €21 after its full-year results earlier this month hinted at strong growth potential. The broker predicts 9.5 per cent compound growth in earnings per share, well above predictions for others in its peer group. SCOR has already said [...]
FTSE 100 breaks its winning streak as risk appetite wanes March 22, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, snapping a three-session rally, as further airstrikes against Libya and disruption caused by the earthquake in Japan dented investors’ appetite for risk. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 23.38 points lower, or down 0.4 per cent, at 5,762.71, having rallied 2.9 per cent over the three previous [...]
Wall Street slides amid light trading March 22, 2011 WALL Street snapped a three-day winning streak yesterday, even as investors adjusted to the insecurity created by events in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 17.90 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 12,018.63. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 4.61 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1,293.77. [...]
