Desmond to launch new Health Lottery project February 28, 2011 EXPRESS owner Richard Desmond will launch a new UK lottery game that he says will raise millions for charity and provide “life changing” prizes for customers. He said the Health Lottery, which will sell tickets for £1, will pump at least £50m a year into health projects in local areas that are outside of NHS [...]
TalkTalk refunds £2.5m February 28, 2011 Ofcom says its investigation into TalkTalk and Tiscali has resulted in almost £2.5m in refunds and good will payments after thousands of consumers were incorrectly billed for cancelled services. Ofcom opened an investigation into TalkTalk and Tiscali UK in July last year following complaints from over 1,000 consumers. Ofcom is now pushing for changes that [...]
HP wins $400m contract February 28, 2011 HP has won a $400m (£290m) contract to move Centrica to cloud- and utility-based computing. HP says the deal will “support Centrica’s change programme, improve speed of deployment, help lower costs and support the company’s environmental objectives.” HP will provide these services from two of its data centres in the UK.
iPhone 4 is record Verizon launch February 28, 2011 The iPhone 4 has been Verizon’s strongest ever launch, according to data from the US carrier. The firm has also shifted more iPhones online than in stores, pointing to a change in the way people buy mobile phones. At peak sales times the iPhone brought 100 times more orders than usual to Verizon’s website, according [...]
Vodafone theft hits signal February 28, 2011 Thousands of Vodafone customers lost service on their phones yesterday morning after a theft at a data centre disrupted its mobile network. The firm says it is now back to normal service. Thieves targeted the facility in the early hours yesterday morning, before making off with computers and network hardware. Vodafone said there had been [...]
Blackstone in bid for Centro US properties February 28, 2011 PRIVATE equity firm Blackstone Group has struck a deal to buy nearly 600 US shopping malls and other properties from Australia’s Centro Property Group for about $9.4bn, according to sources with direct knowledge of the transaction. Blackstone beat rival bidders that include Morgan Stanley Real Estate, which had teamed up with Starwood Capital Group, and [...]
Rising fuel prices hit Aer Lingus as it warns on profits despite strong 2010 February 28, 2011 IRELAND’S Aer Lingus could further cut capacity in 2011 if high fuel prices persist, as the airline fears rising costs and higher airport charges will derail the recovery it enjoyed in the past year. The airline said yesterday it had hedged 62 per cent of its fuel needs for 2011 but would need to review [...]
Pressure increases for Rusal to offload Norilsk February 28, 2011 A REPORT that Russia’s Sual partners may sell its 15.8 per cent stake in Rusal adds to pressure on the aluminium giant to divest its minority holding in Norilsk Nickel, analysts said yesterday. Viktor Vekselberg, one of Sual’s core shareholders, has said Rusal should accept a $12.8bn offer to buy 20 per cent of Norilsk [...]
Novartis second offer for Genoptix February 28, 2011 Novartis said yesterday it would begin a second offer period for shares in US cancer diagnostics company Genoptix after securing acceptances for 80 per cent in the initial offer. The holders of shares tendered in the second period, which closes on 4 March, will be paid $25 per share, the same amount offered in the [...]
Keller Group hit by downturn February 28, 2011 Ground engineering company Keller Group said the downturn in global construction activity cut its annual profit by nearly half, with government cutbacks set to crimp any rebound in the short-term. Keller, which helped prepare the ground for the Palm-Jumeirah Island in Dubai, posted an annual underlying pretax profit of £39.6m.
