QC accused in VAT fraud case July 26, 2012 A SENIOR London barrister was yesterday accused of failing to pay £600,000 in tax. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is prosecuting Rohan Pershad QC, of 39 Essex Street chambers, for unpaid VAT between 1 June 1999 and 24 September 2011 – taxes charged on services he provided as a barrister. Pershad, who was only made a [...]
Broadband and phone deals lift BSkyB earnings July 26, 2012 BSKYB posted record profits yesterday, as the broadcaster revealed plans to spend £500m on buying back shares. The pay-TV company added just 300,000 extra customers in the past year, but boosted income by signing up existing subscribers to its broadband and telephone deals. Sky also announced it was launching a £30m campaign to promote Now [...]
ITV spreads its wings as studios make up for advertising drag July 26, 2012 PROFITS at ITV were hit by slowing advertising revenues in the first half of the year, but shares in the broadcaster jumped as it reported growth elsewhere in the business. A 34 per cent rise in turnover at the company’s production arm ITV Studios, thanks to hit shows including Titanic, drove an 11 per cent [...]
Reed Elsevier eyes disposals July 26, 2012 PUBLISHING and events group Reed Elsevier yesterday said it would accelerate plans to dispose of non-core businesses. The FTSE 100 firm, which owns legal database LexisNexis and scientific publishing houses, said sales were up from £2.9bn to £3bn in the first half of the year, with profits increasing seven per cent to £666m. With most of [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF BSKYB’S FULL YEAR RESULTS? July 26, 2012 PAUL RICHARDS NUMIS SECURITIES Another solid operational performance given the challenging macro backdrop, combined with a robust financial performance. Churn is the standout operational number at 9.9 per cent and we expect a similar performance in 2013 retaining our positive stance and target price of 815p. PATRICK YAU PEEL HUNT This is a solid full-year [...]
Falling oil and gas prices hit profits at Shell July 26, 2012 WEAKER oil and gas prices took their toll on Royal Dutch Shell’s second-quarter profits while extra maintenance costs on high-margin US Gulf production drove earnings below analysts’ expectations. Shell, the second largest of the western world oil majors behind Exxon Mobil, said earnings fell to around $5.7bn (£3.6bn) from $6.6bn a year ago on a [...]
SSE on track for payout rise July 26, 2012 SSE said yesterday it was on track for a full-year dividend increase of at least two per cent more than retail price inflation (RPI) for 2012-2013 and above-RPI inflation dividend increases from 2013-2014 onwards. The utility also saw a steep drop in output from its gas and coal-fired power plants, with 43 per cent less [...]
Elgin leak drags down BG Group July 26, 2012 GAS trading at energy company BG Group has been hit by a downgrade of its US shale assets and falling European production as a result of a gas leak at Total’s North Sea Elgin facility earlier this year, BG Group said yesterday. The US asset downgrade and production drop in Europe were partly offset by [...]
Investments help British Gas owner Centrica beat forecasts July 26, 2012 UTILITY group Centrica, which owns the British Gas brand, said yesterday it was reaping the benefits of recent investments in infrastructure as it reported a rise in first-half earnings which beat market forecasts. Profits were boosted by new investments that increased production capacities, Centrica said, one day after it confirmed a £1.4bn investment in the [...]
GU KAILAI CHARGED WITH HEYWOOD MURDER July 26, 2012 CHINA will try Gu Kailai (pictured), the wife of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai, on charges of allegedly murdering British businessman Neil Heywood, state media said yesterday in the latest turn in a scandal that has rocked the government in Beijing and could bring Gu the death penalty. She will face trial in eastern China.
