Investec sees profit uptick over first half September 16, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec said yesterday that first-half operating profit is expected to inch up marginally, as a strong performance from the asset management and private wealth businesses offset sluggish investment banking activity. Investec admitted that defaults on bad loans have continued to increase due to the slow pace of economic recovery. Impairments remain elevated [...]
England star Nick Easter is the new face of QBE September 16, 2010 ENGLAND and Harlequins rugby star Nick Easter has been appointed by business insurance firm QBE as its new brand ambassador. QBE, which is an official partner of England Rugby, said the partnership with Easter begins immediately and runs until December 2011 – soon after the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The deal will see [...]
Oracle sales boost profits September 16, 2010 ORACLE yesterday said fiscal first-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 20 per cent, helped by strong sales of new business software and faster-than-expected growth of its new hardware business. The world’s third largest software maker, which sells business software database systems and now server hardware through its recent purchase of Sun Microsystems, reported net profit of [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE BBC LICENCE FEE SHOULD BE FROZEN FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS? September 16, 2010 THOMAS MCKAY | VOCUS “I subscribe to Sky and rarely find myself watching the BBC. I suppose the projected cuts in spending might affect the quality of online news, given that other news corporations are now charging for their services. That would be my only concern.” PHIL TURNBULL | AVIVA “Given the cuts in spending [...]
No review due for BSkyB deal September 16, 2010 THE government has not yet decided whether to refer for review the proposed takeover of pay-TV group BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, it said, responding to a report a review was likely. The BBC said business secretary Vince Cable was likely to ask the media regulator Ofcom to look at the impact of any [...]
BBC scraps TV licence fee rise September 16, 2010 The BBC will freeze the licence fee at £145.50 until 2013, after coming under fire from the Conservatives for what it sees as spending largesse. BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons said yesterday the move to scrap a two per cent annual rise will create a £144m shortfall, adding:?“A freeze in income will not be pain-free, [...]
TITANS OF BUSINESS SET TO CLASH AT GOODWOOD REVIVAL FESTIVAL September 16, 2010 THE LOVE affair between businessmen and their fast cars is certainly alive and kicking. This weekend marks the Goodwood Revival historic motorsport and aviation festival, as over 132,000 attendees prepare to head down to Sussex for two days of immersion in classic cars and planes. And The Capitalist hears that among those competing on the [...]
Centaur profits down 10 per cent but recovery underway September 16, 2010 CENTAUR Media, the specialist magazine publisher behind titles such as The Lawyer and Marketing Week, yesterday reported a 10 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the full-year to 30 June. The publisher said it had been hurt by a fall in advertising revenue but added that it had returned to growth in the second [...]
Plus Markets halves losses over first half amid cost cutting drive September 16, 2010 STOCK exchange group Plus Markets yesterday said it had halved first-half losses since last year under a new management team, which has implemented a strict cost-cutting drive. New chief executive Cyril Théret and chairman Giles Vardey aim to bring Plus into the black within two years via a streamlining process which includes almost halving staff [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 16, 2010 ASHMORE Singer rates the fund manager a “buy” and has upgraded its target price to 360p. The broker says Ashmore has made the most of the financial crisis by buying cheap assets, and that its range of new products will boost the firm. It adds that the firm’s performance fees of £82.9m for the year [...]
