Private equity deal volumes plunge again October 29, 2012 THE NUMBER of private equity deals in the UK fell for the fourth consecutive quarter in the three months to September, according to new research out today. Just 77 private equity deals were struck in the last quarter, professional services firm BDO revealed today, as poor funding conditions made it difficult for firms to borrow. [...]
Bank’s deputy governor sees glimpse of economic progress October 29, 2012 BANK of England deputy governor Charlie Bean said yesterday that there was “reason for some optimism” going forward, but warned against getting overexcited about the latest GDP figures showing Britain pulled out of recession in the third quarter. “We should avoid getting overexcited,” Bean told Sky News, adding that growth could be weak in the [...]
Shareholders boosted by asset sell-offs October 29, 2012 A HUGE spike in divestment activity by businesses has boosted shareholder returns through the recession, according to a report out today from Deloitte. Firms globally have divested more than $335bn (£208.1bn) of assets since 2008, with European firms accounting for 65 per cent of big sell-offs since the crisis began. The study looked at the [...]
Mobile boss to hold talks over shared network October 29, 2012 BRITAIN’S four mobile operators could reach a deal in the next few months that would see them share each others’ networks in the event of blackouts, the boss of the UK’s most popular network has said. Olaf Swantee, the chief executive of EE, told City A.M.: “I’ve suggested to my competitors that we talk about [...]
Shareholder pressure on BSkyB’s Murdoch eases ahead of meeting October 28, 2012 JAMES Murdoch is set to survive campaigns calling for him to be thrown out of BSkyB at Thursday’s annual meeting, with investors ready to approve his re-election as a non-executive director. Advocacy groups FairPensions and Pirc have hit out at Murdoch, claiming his father Rupert’s 40 per cent stake in BSkyB means he does not [...]
Labour lobbies Cameron over EU budget cuts October 28, 2012 THE shadow chancellor has this morning upped pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to push for cuts to the European Union’s budget, saying that Labour will lobby against any increase in EU spending plans. “Labour will argue against the proposed increase in EU spending and instead support a real-terms cut in the budget,” Ed Balls [...]
Pickles warns against state control of press October 28, 2012 CABINET minister Eric Pickles yesterday said the government should be “very, very, very reluctant” to introduce legislation to regulate the media industry, “My view is that we should always balance in favour of a free press,” he added. His comments are one of the clearest signs yet that senior Conservatives are uneasy with any move [...]
Bishop accuses finance of being a cuckoo in the nest for Britain October 28, 2012 THE frontrunner to replace Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury told an audience of financiers in Zurich on Friday that finance in Britain “was in fact the cuckoo in the nest that pushed all the other fledgling industries out to die”. The Right Reverend Justin Welby, who was appointed Bishop of Durham in September 2011, [...]
Virgin Atlantic pushes back over easyJet’s exclusive Moscow deal October 28, 2012 VIRGIN Atlantic boss Steve Ridgway hopes to contest a decision to award easyJet a licence to fly to Moscow, calling the situation “bizarre”. The airline is combing through last week’s decision by the Civil Aviation Authority to allow easyJet to operate services to the city, under an arrangement with Russia that allows just two carriers [...]
Sports and the City October 28, 2012 THE Square Mile is positively basking in sporting glory these days. For a start, five giant rugby balls, one to represent each competing nation, were planted in Lime Street to mark the launch of the QBE Internationals taking place in November. In further sporting City news, Devonshire Square was turfed over on Friday, ahead of [...]
