Competition probe hits Sky Movies August 4, 2010 SKY will face an investigation by the Competition Commission into the dominance of its pay-TV movie service. Ofcom has requested the probe after raising concerns over the prices Sky is able to charge for new releases and the lack of consumer choice. The Competition Commission will have a maximum of two years to investigate the [...]
Bankruptcies fall 21pc but overstretched borrowers find other ways to go bust August 4, 2010 PERSONAL bankruptcies fell to pre-recession levels in the second quarter, but the headline drop masked a rush by troubled consumers for alternative ways to resolve their woes. Despite a 21 per cent year-on-year decline in bankruptcies, 380 people entered into insolvency every day during the three months, according to accountancy firm RSM Tenon. Debt relief [...]
Intel avoids fine as settles case over stifling rivals August 4, 2010 INTEL has agreed to stop using threats and unfair discounts to block its rivals, resolving a costly, high-profile legal battle over accusations it illegally smothered competition for over a decade. The world’s largest chip maker – which managed to settle the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint without paying a cent – also pledged to [...]
CITY VIEWS: GIVEN BANKRUPTCIES ARE DOWN, DO YOU THINK PEOPLE’S FINANCES ARE STARTING TO RECOVER? August 4, 2010 KEITH VALENTINE | AXCO INSURANCE INFORMATION SERVICES “People are beginning to find things a little easier, and are feeling a bit more confident. I have noticed some small price increases, which might make it hard for some, but I think people are generally feeling better in themselves. But if people are struggling, I don’t think [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 4, 2010 XSTRATA Xstrata’s interim results came in a little ahead of Evolution Securities’ expectations, and it maintains its “add” rating on the mining group. It notes that the company’s focus was on its change of strategy and $14bn growth pipeline. Evo expects the key areas of growth to be in copper and nickel, although the company [...]
AOL losses to top $1bn due to writedown August 4, 2010 AOL yesterday posted a major loss in the second quarter due to a goodwill impairment charge related to its sale of social networking site Bebo and a precipitous drop in advertising revenue. The company warned in a regulatory filing that it expects total revenue and operating income to decline for the foreseeable future as it [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 4, 2010 BNY Mellon Curtis Arledge, formerly chief investment officer for BlackRock’s fundamental fixed income portfolio, is to join BNY Mellon as vice chairman of the corporation and chief executive of BNY Mellon Asset Management. Arledge also previously worked as co-head of US fixed income at BlackRock, and has over two decades of asset management and investment [...]
Lenders sell off Connaught loans August 4, 2010 Lenders to troubled housing maintenance firm Connaught have begun to sell off their loans to private equity firms. Barclays has already disposed of its exposure, while other non-primary lenders Bank of Ireland and Lloyds are understood to have made moves to sell out. “It’s just a sensible move to get rid of such risky assets,” [...]
Bond St tube gets £300m facelift August 4, 2010 Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a £300m contract to Costain and Laing O’Rourke to redevelop Bond Street Tube station, with the upgrades expected to take up to seven years. Once finished, Bond Street station is expected to have a new entrance and ticket hall north of Oxford Street, new escalators, improved interchanges between the [...]
Cookson returns to pre-tax profit August 4, 2010 Materials science firm Cookson moved into pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, and expects performance to improve during the rest of the year. Revenues rose to £1.23bn for the half, translating to £92.5m pre-tax profit. The world’s biggest producer of ceramic smelting liners said it won’t resume its interim dividend despite the [...]
