Marketing spend suffers worst fall for three years October 17, 2012 MARKETING budgets took their biggest hit in three years in the last quarter amid shrinking business confidence, new data released today shows. Statistics from Markit’s influential IPA Bellwether survey show that budgets shrank for the second successive quarter in the three months to October, with 23 per cent of companies saying budgets had contracted. Just [...]
Dutch chip firm ASML buys US’s Cymer for €2bn October 17, 2012 DUTCH microchip equipment maker ASML is set to spend €1.95bn (£1.6bn) on Cymer, a US technology company whose technology is crucial to making the next generation of smartphone chips, the company said yesterday. ASML saw a flood of investment from microchip manufacturers Samsung, Intel and others over the summer, in order to fund new research [...]
Survey reveals financial chasm between top UK football teams October 17, 2012 POLARISATION between British football’s haves and have-nots is growing, with most clubs outside the English top flight reliant on owners to cover losses, according to a survey published today. Some 66 per cent of all teams who responded said they did not expect to make a profit before player trading and amortisation, an increase from [...]
CWC confirms Macau sale talks October 17, 2012 Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) yesterday said it was in talks over a sale of its business in Macau, a further step as the mobile network company focuses its operations on its Caribbean and Panama operations. The FTSE 250 firm, formed in 2010 when it split from Cable & Wireless Worldwide, is negotiating with Pacific [...]
Speedy Hire sees steady growth October 17, 2012 Speedy Hire, the tools and equipment rental service, remains on track for impressive growth this year after saying yesterday that sales had risen 5.3 per cent in the first half of the financial year, when the effects of recent disposals were stripped out. The company said its progress – in line with expectations – was [...]
European slowdown hits Danone October 17, 2012 French food group Danone said growth slowed sharply at its dairy division as shoppers in Italy and Spain switched to cheaper alternatives in recession conditions unlikely to ease into next year. Kicking off the third-quarter reporting season yesterday ahead of large food makers like Nestle and Unilever, the world’s largest yoghurt maker, whose brands include [...]
RSM Tenon tries to turn the page after dire year October 17, 2012 EMBATTLED professional services firm RSM Tenon tried to draw a line under an “unsatisfactory” year yesterday, after reporting a pre-tax loss of £101.8m. The firm said it is cutting 400 staff, more than first planned and with some compulsory redundancies, as part of its turnaround. It has overhauled its top staff this year after discovering [...]
Lender IPF close to wrapping up share buyback October 17, 2012 DOORSTEP lender International Personal Finance (IPF), which operates in Eastern Europe and Mexico, hoovered up £15m of its own shares during the third quarter, it said yesterday, in a share buyback. IPF, listed on the FTSE 250, began a £25m share buyback programme at the end of July and yesterday said 60 per cent of [...]
An evening celebrating the best of London business October 17, 2012 LAST night was an occasion to remember: City A.M.’s third annual awards celebrating the best and brightest of London’s business, financial and investment communities. Over 500 guests from 116 different firms attended the celebration, held at the Grange Hotel in St Paul’s. There was great food, music and company, as well as a rousing speech [...]
Meet our panel of City judges October 17, 2012 Allister Heath, City A.M. Allister joined City A.M. as editor in 2008. He oversees all of the content in the newspaper and also writes a daily Editor’s Letter. He is also a frequent contributor to other print and broadcast media, and is a regular guest on TV news. David Hellier, City A.M. David has been [...]
