Sales of iPhone 5 reinvigorate Apple’s standing in UK market October 30, 2012 APPLE’S iPhone clawed back share of the smartphone market in the UK and Europe in the six weeks to the end of September, as sales of the iPhone 5 reversed a decline seen in recent months. The latest data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel showed that Apple had 28 per cent of all UK smartphone [...]
Big brands help Imperial profits beat estimates October 30, 2012 IMPERIAL Tobacco, the world’s fourth largest cigarette group, reported an eight per cent rise in annual earnings yesterday, helped by strong revenue growth from its key brands. The British firm, which sells over 340bn cigarettes annually of brands such as Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS and West, said adjusted earnings rose to 201p a share for the [...]
East Oxford Street prepares for major high street regeneration October 30, 2012 THE ARRIVAL of Crossrail and the regeneration of Tottenham Court Road is set to double spending growth in the area by £448m over the next 12 years, according to a report commissioned by the New West End Company. The east end of Oxford Street has struggled over the years to shake off its image as [...]
Ombudsman says blame for PPI lies squarely with banks October 30, 2012 BANKS have only themselves to blame for the flood of spurious claims around payment protection insurance (PPI) misselling, the financial ombudsman said yesterday. Banks have argued claims management companies (CMCs) have launched a deluge of baseless claims on behalf of customers who have never even been sold PPI. But ombudsman chief executive Natalie Ceeney told [...]
Telefonica Germany rises in first day of year’s biggest Europe IPO October 30, 2012 SHARES in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica’s O2-branded German unit rose in its first day in trading yesterday following Europe’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) in more than a year, adding to a fledgling recovery in the region’s new issues market. The offering will raise as much as €1.45bn (£1.17bn) for Spain’s Telefonica to trim its [...]
Watchdog to examine ferry deal October 30, 2012 ■ The Competition Commission will probe Eurotunnel’s takeover of some of collapsed ferry operator SeaFrance’s assets, after the Office of Fair Trading yesterday referred the cross-channel deal to the watchdog. Eurotunnel hopes to take on three boats and other assets from SeaFrance, which fell into liquidation at the start of the year. The OFT is [...]
Banks extend Rusal covenant October 30, 2012 ■ Russian aluminium producer Rusal, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, has extended a waiver from its banks to the end of 2013 to meet its financial covenants on a $4.75bn (£2.95bn) syndicated loan, as it battles falling prices and higher debt. In March, it agreed a 12-month holiday on the financial conditions, and has now [...]
Wolfson back in the black October 30, 2012 ■ British chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics delivered its first profitable quarter since the end of 2010 as its technology was used in Samsung’s popular Galaxy SIII smartphone and Microsoft’s Surface tablet. The company yesterday reported an underlying operating profit of $3.4m (£2.1m) against a $0.7m loss a year ago and a $1.3m loss in the last [...]
Debt-ravaged Eurozone suffers poor month on the high street October 30, 2012 RETAILING in the Eurozone’s second and third biggest economies slipped to even sharper decline in October, business survey data showed yesterday, though resilient Germany dragged the bloc’s average up significantly. The retail purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the Eurozone as a whole collapsed from 47.1 in September to 45.3 this month, Markit said yesterday, where [...]
Spain squeezed by deepening recession and surging inflation October 30, 2012 SPAIN slipped yet deeper into depression, data revealed yesterday, while inflation picked up, raising the spectre of so-called stagflation. Spanish GDP shrunk 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, according to data from official statistics office Ine, the fifth successive quarter without expansion, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a full [...]
