Merger talks for historic publishers October 25, 2012 PEARSON revealed yesterday it is in talks with German media powerhouse Bertelsmann to merge its book publishing arm Penguin with Bertelsmann’s Random House. A deal would see a combined company worth around £2bn, with Pearson likely to own a minority share. The merger would also create a company with greater clout when negotiating with technology [...]
Great boost to the economy – but public still feeling pain October 25, 2012 IT is not every day that the British economy gives us cause to celebrate, so we should all make the most of yesterday’s excellent third quarter GDP growth figures. The economy bounced back by one per cent compared with the second quarter, which was very good going by any measure. The figures need to be [...]
Cameron cheers GDP as sign UK is on right track October 25, 2012 DAVID Cameron said yesterday’s return to economic growth shows the country is “on the right track”, as the coalition celebrated a one per cent rise in GDP. The Prime Minister’s comments were echoed by George Osborne, who said the figures “are a sign the economy is healing”. “We’ve cut the deficit by a quarter, over [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 25, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES UCL wins Stratford campus approval University College London has won initial approval for a £1bn development in east London that will double the space occupied by the elite higher education institution. Newham Council has approved plans for UCL Stratford, a 23-acre complex next to the Olympic Park. As well as being a huge [...]
Possible payout for Tan over $1bn Bumi investment October 25, 2012 POWERFUL Indonesian family the Bakrie brothers could offer coal tycoon Samin Tan compensation for his soured $1bn (£620m) investment in London-listed miner Bumi. The move is the latest blow for troubled London-listed Bumi, which aimed to be the world’s biggest thermal coal exporter but may be left as a shell holding company with no operating [...]
S&P downgrades French banks October 25, 2012 Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut the credit ratings of several French banks including BNP Paribas last night, warning they were becoming more exposed to a potentially protracted recession in the Eurozone. S&P cut its counterparty credit ratings on BNP and two smaller, unlisted banks; it also cut the outlook on ten banks including Societe [...]
HS2 compensation unveiled October 25, 2012 The Department for Transport yesterday revealed compensation packages for homeowners who will be affected by the forthcoming High Speed Two railway. The government will pay the full un-blighted value of homes within 60m of the route, topped-up with an additional 10 per cent payment. Residents who live within 120m of the route will be able [...]
Xstrata investors to vote on deal October 25, 2012 Xstrata shareholders will vote on the £56bn merger with Glencore on 20 November, it was announced yesterday. The investor meeting, which will take place 10 months after the original deal was announced, will see shareholders vote on the proposed deal of 3.05 new shares for every Xstrata share. Under a new voting structure, Xstrata shareholders [...]
Apple sales hit wall ahead of new launches October 25, 2012 HYPE surrounding Apple’s latest products meant the company recorded a fall in sales of the iPad and fairly flat iPhone retail figures in the three months to October. In a period that counted just two weeks of iPhone 5 sales and led up to this week’s launch of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, Apple [...]
Blow for Amazon as its third quarter losses rise to $274m October 25, 2012 AMAZON, the online retailer, was hit by a $274m (£170m) net loss yesterday as it was dragged into the red by struggling online business LivingSocial. Despite an impressive 27 per cent increase in third quarter sales, the firm’s investment and capital expenditure programme cancelled out $13.8bn of sales to incur a bottom line loss equal [...]
