Forecasts for 2011 in media January 18, 2011 Deloitte yesterday unveiled its telecoms and media predictions for the coming year. And while Steve Jobs may have temporarily stepped out of the limelight, technology he has championed – including digital downloads and video calling – dominates the list. Deloitte believes 400m phones with front facing cameras for video calls will be shipped in 2011, [...]
Dissatisfied bank customers still remain loyal January 18, 2011 LAST week we saw that Santander had a difficult 2010 in terms of customer perceptions, with poor service quality leading to customer dissatisfaction and driving down scores across all BrandIndex measures. This week we ask whether that actually matters, as a new report from YouGov SixthSense into the customer journey suggests that customer inertia may [...]
ARM and IBM sign new alliance January 18, 2011 UK Chipmaker ARM will work with IBM on the next generation of microprocessors, the firm announced yesterday. It will work with the computing giant on a new range of low powered processors for mobile devices. The deal comes after ARM received a major boost from Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, with [...]
Pearson expands further into Indian education January 18, 2011 Publishing group Pearson showed its commitment to emerging markets yesterday by taking a further 59 per cent stake in Indian education firm TutorVista for $127m (£80m). India’s education sector, worth a staggering $86bn, is seeing fresh interest from foreign firms and large funds which are pumping money into services, technology and infrastructure. John Makinson, chairman [...]
Carphone says it will reach top of expectations January 18, 2011 Carphone Warehouse yesterday reported brisk trading, driven by a strong performance in its US joint venture with Best Buy. Europe’s biggest mobile phone retailer said it expects full-year earnings to be at the top end of forecasts. The group, which owns 50 per cent of the venture with Best Buy as well as a 47.5 [...]
Blockbuster granted more time to plan January 18, 2011 VIDEO rental chain Blockbuster said yesterday that it had received an additional three weeks from its lenders to file a bankruptcy reorganisation plan. The company received an extension to 4 February from 14 January to file a plan, a regulatory filing shows. It is common for debtors to seek such extensions, and US bankruptcy courts [...]
Hutchison in $6bn stock offer January 18, 2011 HUTCHISON Whampoa plans to spin off its holdings in two ports assets, a move expected to raise $6bn (£3.8bn) in what could be Southeast Asia’s largest ever stock offering. The listing by Hutchison, a ports-to-telecom conglomerate owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, will take place on the Singapore Stock Exchange, allowing the company to [...]
Lindor truffles boost US and UK sales for Lindt January 18, 2011 SWISS premium chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli will meet its 2010 operating profit goal after North American and UK consumers bought more of its Lindor truffles, helping to offset the strong franc. The company said it had seen a double-digit increase in demand for its chocolates in its most important market of North America as [...]
Ashtead walks away from Lavendon January 18, 2011 INDUSTRIAL hire firm Ashtead and Belgium’s TVH Services walked away from its bid for Lavendon Group yesterday, ending a two-month-long battle for control of the British rental-equipment firm. The news sent Lavendon shares down 11 per cent to 97.25p, making them the top percentage losers on the London Stock Exchange, as investors feared few other [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 18, 2011 Fuller, Smith & Turner The brewer has appointed Lynn Fordham, chief executive of FTSE 250 private investment manager SVG Capital, to its board as a non-executive director. She will join both the remuneration and audit committees in addition to her seat on the board. Fordham has previously held senior financial, strategic and operational roles at [...]
