Perform Group’s US touchdown generates sports revenue boost October 29, 2012 PERFORM Group, the internet sports distribution firm, yesterday said expansion in new markets had pushed turnover up 44 per cent in the third quarter. The company, which operates video-on-demand services online, owns sports websites including the popular Goal.com, and sells adverts on other sports websites, said group revenues had increased from £27.4m last year to [...]
Heathrow hurt by summer lull in passengers October 29, 2012 HEATHROW Ltd, formerly known as BAA, warned yesterday that full-year earnings would fall short of its target, after fewer passengers travelled through Europe’s busiest airport this summer. “Traffic over the summer months was lower than expected, particularly in July and August when passenger traffic was down about 400,000 on the same period in 2011,” chief [...]
Honda cuts profit forecasts as China dispute hits 2012 sales October 29, 2012 HONDA Motor cut its full-year net profit forecast by a fifth yesterday after sales in China were hit by a popular backlash against Japanese goods, and warned it could be February before business in the world’s biggest autos market returns to normal. The cut, prompted by a slump in sales amid protests in a dispute [...]
TNT’s quarterly income drops as EU awaits concessions on deal October 29, 2012 TNT Express, the Dutch mail delivery group being bought by UPS said yesterday that third-quarter profit fell 12 per cent. The company also repeated that it expected EU Commission approval for the deal. UPS, or United Parcel Service, is not expected to complete the €5.2bn (£4.3bn) acquisition until early next year after the European Commission [...]
GSK raises bet on HIV/AIDS drug with new Shionogi deal October 29, 2012 GLOXOSMITHKLINE yesterday raised its bet on a promising drug for HIV/AIDS by redrawing a deal with Japan’s Shionogi which gives it a much bigger economic interest in the new product. Dolutegravir, a once-daily drug that has performed strongly in clinical trials, is seen by analysts as a potential multi-billion-dollar-a-year seller and a strong competitor to [...]
Serco wins £170m pensions deal October 29, 2012 Outsourcing firm Serco, which runs the Docklands Light Railway, yesterday secured its first pensions deal. Serco, which also runs the Boris bikes scheme, will provide back office support services for life and pensions company Aegon in a deal worth £170m over the ten-year term. It will also manage some of Aegon’s so called “zombie” funds, [...]
Demand for Windows 8 surges October 29, 2012 Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday demand for the company’s new Windows 8 operating system, released to the public last Friday, was running at a higher rate than its last release, Windows 7. “We’re seeing preliminary demand well above where we were with Windows 7,” Ballmer said. Windows 7 is the best-selling version of [...]
Aegis buys Tokyo-based Hablar October 29, 2012 Media and digital communications group Aegis yesterday bought Tokyo-based marketing and search agency Hablar. Aegis said the purchase was aimed at boosting its digital capabilities. Hablar will now be merged into iProspect – Aegis’ existing search and performance marketing agency in Japan. Hablar, which was founded in 2003, has already worked with Aegis in Japan.
Who’s switching jobs October 29, 2012 ETF Securities Peter Lidblom has been appointed as head of Nordic region at the exchange-traded investment products provider. He joins from NSBO, the institutional broker, where he was responsible for sales to Nordic investors. Renaissance Capital The investment bank has hired two London-based sales traders for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) platform. Shu-Ming [...]
Best of the Brokers October 29, 2012 JULIUS BAER UBS has upgraded the Swiss bank from “neutral” to “buy” with a target price of SwFr39, saying it likes “the scale argument and changing regional profile” of the recent Merrill Lynch wealth unit. LOK’N’STORE Panmure Gordon has raised its target price on the storage firm from 126p to 137p and maintained a “buy” [...]
