BIG EARNER January 31, 2010 ADAM Crozier, the recently appointed chief of ITV, is in line for a £15m pay packet over the next five years if he can turn around the fortunes of the ailing broadcaster. It is understood he will earn a basic salary of around £750,000, but will be able to pocket a performance related bonus of [...]
News Corp settles Valassis case ahead of unfair competition trial January 31, 2010 NEWS Corporation, the media group run by tycoon Rupert Murdoch, said it has settled a lawsuit by Valassis Communications Inc for $500m (£313.5m) after deciding it may have difficulty presenting its case to a jury. Valassis, a distributor of newspaper inserts, has already won $300m in damages in a lawsuit against a News Corp subsidiary [...]
It’s in the doggy bag for Metro Bank with Pooch friendly pact January 31, 2010 METRO Bank, the new High Street lender backed by US billionaire Vernon Hill, is set to make a canny business ploy out of the conventional wisdom that dogs are a man’s best friend – by welcoming its customers’ canine companions into its branches with open arms. Metro, with the catchy slogan “Love your Bank”, has [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK January 31, 2010 PICCADILLY Circus restaurant Criterion had a boost last week from these well-heeled diners, racking up £2,396 on a lengthy business lunch. Our foodies enjoyed a feast of foie gras, king scallops, fillet of beef and venison, though as usual, they paid more attention to sampling the restaurant’s liquid fare than its grub. They drank two [...]
RBS Sempra sale derailed by bank laws January 31, 2010 PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s proposed changes to US banking legislation could have derailed the sale of RBS Sempra to JP Morgan Chase. The banking giant is now only interested in buying the branches of the company that operate outside of the US. The two are now working on a deal that could see RBS sell its [...]
This is a year for old-fashioned stock picking January 31, 2010 Just the other day, I was sent some research on global trends over the next decade. While it made for interesting reading, many players are indicating that the year at hand will be more about stock picking rather than trying to chase trend money. Michael Browne, portfolio manager at Sofaer Global Research, says that if [...]
Amazon battle over web prices January 31, 2010 AMAZON.COM has removed all e-books published by Macmillan from its website after a dispute over pricing, according to media reports. Amazon’s website, as well as the site for its Kindle e-reader, yesterday showed titles published by Macmillan available only through third parties. Publishers are widely seen to be demanding more control over prices of their [...]
New Look eyes March flotation January 31, 2010 HIGH street retailer New Look could announce plans to raise up to £2bn through a flotation on the stock exchange as early as this week. The board met to discuss an IPO or a sale last week to provide an exit for private equity groups Permira and Apax Partners. The duo, along with founder Tom [...]
Hedge funds launch attack on Endemol January 31, 2010 BIG Brother producer Endemol is involved in a fracas with a powerful group of hedge fund owners. The hedge funds, which own Endemol’s £1.9bn debt, have accused the television giant of financial engineering to avoid breaching its loan agreement. The spat broke out over a complex scheme in which Endemol was buying back its own [...]
Avatar climbs to new heights at the box office January 31, 2010 THE 3-D movie phenomenon “Avatar” moved further into rarefied territory at the worldwide box office during the weekend, surpassing the $2bn (£1.25bn) mark days after it broke the record held by “Titanic”. James Cameron’s sci-fi spectacular has grossed $2.039bn after seven chart-topping weekends of release, distributor 20th Century Fox said yesterday. The film last Monday [...]
