Brand Index: The Finnish firm gets a patchy reception across the world September 3, 2013 NOKIA announced yesterday that Microsoft will acquire its mobile phone business. The Finnish company has long been one of the big players in the market, and while it has struggled in recent years it is still the second biggest seller of mobile phones globally. So is this a good deal for Microsoft? Perceptions of Nokia [...]
Wonga defends reputation as profits rocket September 3, 2013 ONLINE lender Wonga yesterday claimed it is a “good corporate citizen” and that it believes the political campaign against its short-term loans is beginning to die down. The company recorded post-tax profits of £62.5m for 2012, a rise of 36 per cent on the year, on revenues of £309.3m, up 67 per cent. Loan volumes [...]
Walkie Scorchie beat planners September 3, 2013 THE DEVELOPERS behind 20 Fenchurch Street, better known as the Walkie Scorchie, yesterday said they had commissioned a report into its light beam – from the same consultancy who missed the problem at the planning stage. The developers hired light consultancy firm GIA several years ago to look into issues that would arise from the construction of the concave-shaped [...]
Fidelity loses star manager Sanjeev Shah September 3, 2013 ONE OF the UK’S best performing fund managers quit the industry yesterday after admitting he no longer wanted to work the grueling schedule required of top money managers. Sanjeev Shah, who is 42 and has had a stellar run of results recently, has decided to stop running money for fund manager Fidelity at the end [...]
LinkedIn to offer $1bn more in shares after upsurge in prices September 3, 2013 NETWORKING site LinkedIn is set to release another $1bn (£643.4m) of stock to sell, following the doubling of share prices through 2013 so far. The sale will be underwritten by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and specialist investment bank Allen & Co. In its explanation to the US Securities [...]
Terry Smith strikes match September 3, 2013 FUND manager Terry Smith, the contrarian boss of asset manager Fundsmith, spent almost £70m investing in a Swedish tobacco accessory company and soft drink giant Dr Pepper last half-year. He poured £38.7m into Swedish Match, which makes popular Swedish tobacco product snus, £31.8m into Dr Pepper Snapple and also spent £28.8m on medical supplies company [...]
Bank of America starts to sell off stake in China Construction Bank September 3, 2013 BANK OF America started selling its remaining stake in China Construction Bank yesterday for up to $1.5bn (£964m), marking the final step of the US bank’s multi-year exit from the asset. The bank joins a list of Western institutions that have found that their investments in Chinese financial firms did not provide the strategic benefits [...]
Clean-up in the C-suite after Vodafone deal September 3, 2013 NOT ONLY did Vodafone secure a massive £54bn windfall for its shareholders this week – after agreeing a record-breaking deal with American telecoms group Verizon – but The Capitalist hears it also left a spot of temporary office destruction in its wake. The £84bn deal was agreed by the telecoms giants’ boards on Sunday, with 20 [...]
Second straight win for BoJo at glitzy GQ Men of the Year bash September 3, 2013 TO THE Royal Opera House in Covent Garden last night for the 16th annual GQ Men of the Year Awards in association with Hugo Boss. Among the celebrity and sporting stars in attendance – such as actors Michael Douglas, Samuel L Jackson and Stephen Fry – were some familiar faces from the worlds of politics and [...]
PPI drives bank complaints to a new record high September 3, 2013 PAYMENT protection insurance (PPI) complaints have jumped to a new record high, the Financial Ombudsman Service said yesterday. However, the tide has showed some signs of slowing, with banks like Barclays recording a fall in the number of referrals to the official agency. Total financial complaints jumped to 327,035 in the six months from January [...]
