EE’s advantage grows with 1m 4G customers September 9, 2013 MOBILE operator Everything Everywhere (EE) yesterday announced that more than 1m customers are now on its 4G mobile network. The news came just after rival networks O2 and Vodafone launched their own 4G services last week. EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, originally set a target of reaching 1m 4G customers by the end of [...]
Battle for Vivendi top job after corporate raider enters the ring September 9, 2013 FRENCH media giant Vivendi is facing a battle over who will be the company’s next chief executive after major shareholder Vincent Bollore threw his hat into the ring this weekend. The French press reported over the weekend that Vivendi chair Jean-Rene Fourtou had wanted to pick Bertelsmann chief executive Thomas Rabe. Les Echos, a daily [...]
Neiman Marcus owners trouser $6bn after sale September 9, 2013 UPSCALE American retailer Neiman Marcus is to be snapped up by a consortium of Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, it was announced yesterday, snuffing out hopes of an initial public offering (IPO). Current owners TPG Capital, Warburg Pincus and Leonard Green Partners sealed the sale yesterday in a deal that values [...]
G4S turnaround strategy gains momentum with Dubai contract September 9, 2013 TROUBLED security firm G4S’s turnaround hopes were boosted yesterday by the announcement of a new three-year contract with Dubai Airports. The new deal, which could be extended by a further two years, will see G4S provide services including boarding pass checks and security screening at the UAE airport. The deal value was not disclosed. The [...]
Nintendo shares slide as games firm loses out on Nikkei 225 slot September 9, 2013 NINTENDO’S exclusion from the Nikkei 225 caused the video game maker’s share price to plummet eight per cent in Tokyo yesterday. Speculation in recent months has been rife that Nintendo would join the index – having transferred the company’s listing from the Osaka stock exchange to Tokyo during the exchange’s merger – has caused Nintendo’s [...]
City Moves for 10 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 9, 2013 Mercer The consultancy firm has announced the appointment of Deb Clarke as global head of investment research. Clarke joined Mercer in 2005 from Towers Watson, where she was a senior investment consultant. She was previously a fund manager for 20 years. Schroders Divyesh Hindocha has joined the asset management company as global head of product [...]
Insurance company of the year September 9, 2013 Insurance is the quiet success story of the British financial services industry. While UK banks continue to be hamstrung by government ownership and poor reputations, our insurers are powering ahead and selling to the world – prompting a construction boom in the City’s insurance district around Fenchurch Street. We were looking for companies that were [...]
Bank of the year September 9, 2013 2013 may be remembered as the year the banking sector shook off the shadow of the financial crisis and really came back into its own. Profitability is up, lenders are at last overcoming tough new regulatory hurdles and a stable future could be just around the corner. Here is our pick of the top five [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 September 2013 September 9, 2013 CSR Liberum has upgraded the chipmaker from “hold” to “buy” with a 550p price target. The broker thinks CSR could beat its earnings forecasts in 2014 thanks to a raft of new products, and points to a 20 per cent fall in the share price since July as a good buying opportunity. TATE & LYLE [...]
London Report: BG slump and concerns over Syria hit FTSE September 9, 2013 BRITAIN’S top share index fell from three-week highs yesterday, with a warning of lower output from energy major BG and simmering concerns about Syria outweighing strong Chinese data. BG dropped 5.1 per cent – its biggest one-day fall in nearly a year – after saying delays at projects in Egypt and Norway would reduce its [...]