Green shoots for Japan recovery January 12, 2011 Economic conditions improved in Japan last month, according to the Economic Watchers Survey released yesterday. However, a measure of bank lending dropped by 2.1 per cent year-on-year.
Sky Deutschland rises on subs growth January 12, 2011 LOSS-MAKING pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland reported a big jump in subscriber growth in Germany, sending its shares to a one-year high. The company, in which News Corporation owns a 49.9 per cent stake, has suffered from sluggish growth because of Germans’ reluctance to pay for premium TV content. During the last three months of 2010, [...]
AIG agrees $2.16bn sale of Nan Shan January 12, 2011 AMERICAN International Group (AIG) has accepted a $2.16bn (£1.38bn) cash offer for its Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit from a group led by local conglomerate Ruentex, marking the beginning of the end of a drawn-out political process. AIG has been trying to sell the unit for 15 months as part of its plans to pay [...]
The best slimline laptops January 12, 2011 AT last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – the event that’s become the mecca for the latest developments in technology, computers, gadgets, gizmos and pretty much anything containing a microchip – the tech world went tablet crazy, with scores of them launched. Such is the influence of the iPad – but it’s worth [...]
Corporate sales boost Sodexo January 12, 2011 FRENCH caterer Sodexo kept its 2011 goals for higher sales and profits, despite North American unemployment, a struggling public sector in Europe, and rising food prices that make the economic climate challenging. The world’s second-biggest catering services company after Britain’s Compass Group posted a 10.5 per cent rise in fiscal first-quarter sales yesterday. Sodexo benefitted [...]
Cliffs pays £2.64bn for Consolidated Thompson January 12, 2011 CLIFFS Natural Resources has agreed to buy Canada’s Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines for C$4.07bn (£2.64bn), aiming to expand its capacity to feed Asia’s appetite for iron ore. The Cleveland, Ohio-based iron ore and coal miner said it wants to be able to cater to booming markets like China and India that are undergoing rapid urbanisation. [...]
How to ensure you get the best value deal for your mobile phone January 12, 2011 IT’S ALMOST a cliché that when you are trying to negotiate your mobile phone bill down you should threaten to leave the company, and insist to be put through to the retentions department, where deals can be struck. These days things are more complex. A few years ago when pay-as-you-go or 12-month contracts were the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 12, 2011 SocialGO SocialGO, the AIM-listed developer and provider of software for social network building, has appointed Alex Halliday as its new chief executive. At 25 years old, Halliday is the youngest chief executive of an AIM company. The company has also made Dominic Wheatley executive chairman of its board, and Ian Livingstone has taken on a [...]
TECH TALK January 12, 2011 EXPENSE forms are the bane of the City trader’s life. Whether you’re claiming for a business lunch or filing your tax return, the fiddle factor costs you time and money. Nine in ten City workers loses fifty pounds a month through mislaid receipts (source: IT in Context) with petrol receipts the most likely to go [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 12, 2011 BRITISH AIRWAYS Citi rates the airline a “buy” with a target price of £3.75, but marks it high risk ahead of the launch of its new post-merger holding company, International Consolidated Airlines Group, on 24 January. The broker says BA’s risks look manageable, while cost synergies and growing demand for first class travel will benefit [...]
