Chinese giant to buy into Bank of East Asia January 23, 2011 INDUSTRIAL and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s top lender by market value, will pay about $140m (£87.5m) for 80 per cent of Bank of East Asia’s US unit, the two companies said yesterday. The deal, first mentioned in a report on Friday, will require approval from regulators in China and the United States before [...]
PORTMAN DOMINATES US BOX OFFICE January 23, 2011 Natalie Portman pulled in US moviegoers over the weekend, with new release No Strings Attached joining Black Swan in the top ten films at the North American box office between 21-23 January. No Strings Attached, which co-stars Ashton Kutcher, entered at number one, taking $20.3m (£12.7m) in its opening weekend.
The pensions chief who says that investors are no longer a soft touch January 23, 2011 It is easy to see why the chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) looks more relaxed these days – this coalition government is less keen on beating shareholders over the head. Lindsay Tomlinson is lounging on a sofa in a bright modern office in the NAPF’s headquarters on Cheapside, opposite the recently-opened [...]
Business bags full of hi-tech cargo January 23, 2011 BUSINESS travellers take items worth nearly £1,500 in their airplane carry-on bags, according to a survey. The research found that business people typically take 12 items, including essentials like toothbrushes and a shirt. But now smartphones and iPads – costing around £700 – are making their way onto the list as technology becomes a must-have [...]
Look outside London to drive City’s growth January 23, 2011 The government has made clear that its top priority for 2011 is to drive forward growth in the UK economy and to ensure this growth is spread across the country and across a variety of sectors. It could be inferred that such a commitment – shifting the focus away from London and the financial services [...]
Telefonica furthers Unicom alliance January 23, 2011 Spain’s Telefonica and Chinese mobile operator China Unicom will deepen their strategic alliance by buying an additional $500m (£312.5m) stake in each other. The two companies, which together have more than 550m clients in Europe, Asia and Latin America, are exploring joint investments in parts of Asia and Africa where they are not already present. [...]
FACEBOOK: A LITTLE TOO SOCIAL NETWORK? January 23, 2011 YOU might think former Facebook president Sean Parker, who described Justin Timberlake’s portrayal of him in the movie The Social Network as “a complete fiction,” may have reason to be slightly annoyed. Trousersnake plays Parker as a Machiavellian, cocaine snorting wise guy who impresses a young Mark Zuckerberg by dating a Victoria’s Secret model. So [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK January 23, 2011 SIX thirsty city workers indulged in a cocktail swilling session at Odette’s Restaurant in Primrose Hill last Thursday to celebrate bonus day. And their big bonus splash-out also involved a bottle of Puligny Montrachet at £90 a pop. Ironically, the wine is known as “Scabby Hill” (Mont Rachaz) but we’re not sure this was reflected [...]
Playing the new uranium boom January 23, 2011 INVESTMENT COMMENT OVER the past six months, the price of uranium has risen more than 60 per cent to $68 an ounce and thanks to increasing demand and tight supply, prices could be headed even higher. There are 442 operating nuclear reactors worldwide but with 60 new ones under construction (a further 156 are in [...]
Stocks to start the week lower on China fears January 23, 2011 Despite closing on Friday on a mild high, over the course of the week the FTSE still dropped nearly 1.8 per cent, managing along the way to close at its lowest level for five weeks, and it looks like the bears could resume control once again this morning. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index [...]
