Apple sues Taiwanese rival HTC over iPhone patent infringement March 2, 2010 APPLE is suing phone rival HTC, claiming it has broken patents related to the iPhone. Taiwan-based HTC was the first company to manufacture a mobile based on Google’s Android operating system, which has emerged as a significant competitor for the iPhone. It also makes the Nexus One phone that Google is selling directly to users. [...]
Lufthansa to scrap payout as profits slip March 2, 2010 LUFTHANSA posted a 2009 operating profit that was better than expected yesterday after the German flagship carrier started slashing costs to become more lean and compete with low-cost carriers and Asian rivals. Its operating profit dropped to €130m (£118.1m) in 2009 from €1.3bn a year earlier – beating the €31m analysts had forecast – Lufthansa [...]
British Gas beats BT in the utilities price war March 2, 2010 IT seems that British consumers are very sensitive to the details of their arrangements with their utility suppliers. This week we compare one utilities company that has benefited from this (British Gas), and one that has suffered (BT). It appears that British Gas’ announcement of a seven per cent price cut for all households has [...]
GAM hit as clients shun high-risk assets March 2, 2010 GAM Holding’s full-year net profit tumbled 60 per cent as clients pulled money from hedge funds in favour of safer lower-margin products, the Swiss-listed asset manager said yesterday. Net new money rose to Sfr414m (£256.7m), GAM said after Sfr2bn of client money flowed into the group in the second half, though this was mainly into [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 2, 2010 HAYS Numis Securities reiterates its “sell” rating on Hays citing another set of earnings downgrades post its half year results. Following a tough period of trading, the business faces additional UK public sector pressures which could lead it to lag a wider staffing recovery. While the dividend yield remains attractive it prefers Hays’ rivals. HSBC [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 2, 2010 Jupiter Asset Management The asset manager has appointed John Tevenan as a sales director in its global financial institutions group, responsible for developing relationships among global wealth management businesses. Tevenan joins in May and is currently UK sales director at Investec Asset Management, where he has worked since 2005. He has also held roles at [...]
Gains in banking shares lead the FTSE to a six-week high March 2, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a six-week closing high yesterday and rose for a third straight session, led by banks with HSBC firmer after the previous session’s post results sell-off. The FTSE 100 closed up 78.12 points, or 1.45 per cent, at 5,484.06, its highest closing level since January 19, after climbing 1 per cent [...]
Investors growing wary over job data March 2, 2010 US stocks ended slightly higher yesterday as mergers and acquisitions supported selected sectors, but investors pulled back from recent gains in some big-cap technology and bank shares. The S&P 500 has risen for eight of the past 11 trading days, but there were signs of fatigue as investors grew cautious in advance of key employment [...]
QE means the pound has further to fall this year March 2, 2010 EVER since Dubai plunged into crisis last November, the question of which indebted sovereign state would be next to topple has been uppermost in investors’ minds. Greece – the likeliest suspect at the time of the Dubai crisis – quickly descended into its own fiscal turmoil at the start of 2010, while the effect of [...]
Eastern promise for traders in Turkey March 2, 2010 ONE consequence of the Greek debt crisis has been a re-ordering of global risk sentiment. The problems plaguing the economies of southern Europe, including Greece and Spain, have brought into sharp relief the budget deficits burdening Western economies such as the UK, the US and Europe, where growth is expected to remain sluggish and interest [...]
