WALT DISNEY BUYS PLAYDOM July 28, 2010 WALT Disney yesterday said it will acquire social gaming firm Playdom for $563.2m (£361m), as the young but fast-growing market for internet games on Facebook and other websites has exploded. The deal is set to provide stiff competition for other social gaming rivals such as Zynga.
Conoco says it will sell off Lukoil stake July 28, 2010 CONOCOPHILLIPS, the third-largest US oil company, yesterday said it will sell its entire stake in Russian oil major Lukoil in a bid to boost shareholder returns as it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit. The Houston company, which has a two-year plan to shrink debt by selling $10bn (£6.4bn) in assets, said it will sell 40 per [...]
Telefonica seals deal for Vivo July 28, 2010 Telefonica has won its battle for a bigger share of the burgeoning Brazilian telecoms market after raising its offer for Portugal Telecom’s (PT) stake in mobile operator Vivo to €7.5bn (£6.2bn). The long-sought-after takeover, a coup for Telefonica chairman Cesar Alierta, makes the group the biggest in Brazil whether measured by its 69.2m customers or [...]
BAA halves losses, but traffic falls July 28, 2010 AIRPORT operator BAA has narrowed its losses despite passenger numbers taking a hit from British Airways’ (BA’s) cabin crew strikes and the Icelandic volcano. The group, owned by Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, halved its pre-tax losses during the first half of the year from £545.7m in 2009 to £279.7m, helped by lower one-off charges. BAA, [...]
Derwent London snaps up Central Cross for £146m July 28, 2010 LANDLORD and developer Derwent London said yesterday that it is stepping into the market for the first time in three years with the £146m purchase of a building in one of London’s busiest shopping streets. The deal indicates that banks slowly are beginning to sell real-estate assets that are weighing on their books. Derwent is [...]
Boeing remains optimistic for 2010 despite posting a sharp fall in profits July 28, 2010 AIRCRAFT manufacturer Boeing saw a sharp fall in profits during the first six months of the year after plane deliveries were hit by problems, and government spending cuts hit its defense business. The US-based group saw profits fall from 2009’s $1.6bn (£1bn) to $1.3bn, marking a 19 per cent drop for the period, with the [...]
Infineon raises full-year outlook July 28, 2010 German chipmaker Infineon raised its full-year outlook for the second time in three months yesterday after crashing past profit forecasts. Infineon, whose chips can be found in mobile handsets including Nokia and Apple, now expects revenue for the year to rise by at least 45 per cent, with an operating margin in the low teens. [...]
Mecom sees profits surge July 28, 2010 European newspaper group Mecom posted a 48 per cent leap in first-half operating profit yesterday as it continued to drive costs out of the business as part of an aggressive move from traditional print to online local content. Mecom said advertising revenue fell three per cent but online newspaper advertising grew 47 per cent, with [...]
Adobe to buy Day Software July 28, 2010 Adobe Systems yesterday agreed to buy Switzerland-based Day Software Holding for $240m (£153.8m), to strengthen its enterprise software segment and add web content management software to its portfolio. Day shareholders will receive 139 Swiss francs per share, a 34 per cent premium to Day’s Tuesday close of 104 Swiss francs. The deal, valued at 255m [...]
PIMCO’S GROSS LOWERS THE TONE WITH A TOUCH OF TOILET HUMOUR July 28, 2010 FULL marks to Pimco managing director Bill Gross, who has excelled even his own high standards of witty repartee in his latest Investment Outlook newsletter. The most recent missive is dedicated to none other than the humble toilet – more specifically, the advent of electronic “eye” sensors in place of a manual flushing system. “It’s [...]
