EU approves Carphone deal June 30, 2009 TELECOMS and retail group Carphone Warehouse received approval from European Union antitrust authorities yesterday for its £236m takeover of Internet service provider Tiscali UK. The European Commission, executive arm of the 27-nation European Union, said in a statement that the transaction would not impede competition. It said that though Carphone Warehouse and Tiscali UK, a [...]
Small businesses start to see upturn in confidence June 30, 2009 CONFIDENCE is on the up among small businesses which have borne the brunt of the economic turmoil over the past year or so, according to a leading industry body. The Federation of Small Businesses said yesterday that 23 per cent of its members had experienced an increase in trade recently. Only a quarter of SMEs [...]
Sterling reaches an eight month high against the dollar but gains fizzle out June 30, 2009 STERLING hit an eight-month high against the dollar yesterday due to surprisingly strong UK house price data, but its gains fizzled out after a moderating decline in US home prices later boosted the US currency. Weaker-than-expected figures on UK gross domestic product also stung the pound on the view that the nation’s economy continues to [...]
Prepare for worst, says BoE’s Tucker June 30, 2009 BANKS should implement procedures to limit damage to the economy in the event that they collapse, the deputy governor of the Bank of England Paul Tucker told the BBA conference yesterday. Tucker said that the social contract between banks and society needed to be redrawn and called on lenders to keep information on how they [...]
EU may force banks to sell off divisions June 30, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland may be forced to dispose of assets in order to meet EU antitrust rules, the European competition commissioner warned yesterday. Speaking at the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) annual conference, Neelie Kroes said that the two banks had an unfair competitive advantage as a result of receiving state [...]
Turner sketches capital rules June 30, 2009 LORD Adair Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), yesterday told bankers to prepare for “radical change” under the future regulatory regime, including the requirement to hold much higher capital ratios. Speaking at the annual British Bankers’ Association (BBA) conference, the FSA supremo said he supported US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner’s proposal that [...]
BA TALKS TRUNDLE ON June 30, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS will today re-start last ditch talks with its unions in a desperate bid to avert strike action, having failed to reach agreement before yesterday’s self-imposed deadline. It is thought that Unite and other unions could not agree with BA on a range of issues, including compulsory redundancies. Willie Walsh, the airline’s chief executive, [...]
Cisco could take on Microsoft June 30, 2009 Cisco Systems is considering offering Web-based alternatives to Microsoft’s popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the internet. Cisco Senior Vice President Doug Dennerline said his company may develop a service that would be specifically targeted at business users. Internet alternatives to Office – such as Google Docs – cropped up five years [...]
Businesses caught in red tape June 30, 2009 Smaller businesses in the construction sector lose more than £1.1bn every year due to government red tape, new figures have shown. Research carried out by business lobby and support group the Forum of Private Business (FPB) found that Britain’s small and medium-sized construction firms spend £1,157m each year complying with legislation.
IHG reshuffle will save money June 30, 2009 InterContinental Hotels said yesterday its planned reorganisation of its Asian operations would mean cost savings for the group – but declined to say howmuch much. The world’s largest hotel operator said 115 Chinese operations would now be managed separately from the rest of its Asia Pacific operations as part of a regional revamp.
