Eurozone consumers still upbeat April 29, 2010 Sovereign debt woes have not yet dampened consumer sentiment in the Eurozone, an EC survey showed yesterday. The economic sentiment indicator rose to a 25-month high of 100.6 points from March’s upwardly revised 97.9. Data was collected prior to this week.
Cut-price Sky Sports moves a step closer April 29, 2010 SKY’S stranglehold over subscription TV took a hit yesterday as a court refused to postpone a ruling forcing it to slash the price it can charge rivals for Premier League football. The ruling guarantees top flight games will be available across four platforms by the start of next season. Sky, led by chief executive Jeremy [...]
Popularity of HD services helps profits to rocket April 29, 2010 A RUSH on Sky’s HD services helped to more than double its profits in the last nine months. An astonishing 428,000 viewers signed up to its HD services, a leap of 76 per cent year-on-year. The surge dragged the average annual customer spend over the £500 mark for the first time. The broadcaster will hope [...]
Panel verdict: Cameron wins debate again April 29, 2010 DAVID Cameron won last night’s leaders’ debate by a clear margin, according to our rapid response panel. We asked a rapid response group from the City A.M. / PoliticsHome.com Panel of London’s financiers and business professionals to give each of the leaders a score out of 10 for performance and content. According to the Panel, [...]
King: Cuts will destroy next government April 29, 2010 THE party that wins the election will be out of power for a generation because of the scale of spending cuts needed to slash Britain’s yawning £163bn budget deficit, according to Mervyn King. American economist David Hale said the Bank of England governor told him the next government will jeopardise its political survival because of [...]
Santander in £426m profit April 29, 2010 SANTANDER, the eurozone’s largest bank, grew its UK profits by more than 15 per cent in the first quarter as it bit off a greater market share in mortgage lending. The Spanish giant yesterday said trading profits were £426m in the three months to March. In a challenge to Britain’s high street players, Santander expanded [...]
Don’t forget about Spain April 29, 2010 IT SEEMS too good to be true. Spain has suffered one of the worst housing downturns in the world, yet its biggest bank is booming. Santander has its Latin American operations to thank for that, in particular its Brazilian bank. Cherry-picking the best bits of Britain’s mortgage books during the depths of the financial crisis hasn’t [...]
Chinese banks face slowdown after record start to the year April 29, 2010 CHINESE banks, flush from record profits in a first quarter boosted by a year-long loan binge, face a slowdown as Beijing tries to cool their breakneck lending and keep the economy from overheating. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications, some of China’s largest lenders, posted their best-ever [...]
OFT immunity policy means truth unclear April 29, 2010 JURORS trying the case of four senior British Airways executives, including one from London, who are alleged to have taken part in a price-fixing cartel with Virgin Atlantic, have been warned that the prospect of immunity may taint the evidence of Virgin staff. The court heard yesterday that Virgin Atlantic had received immunity from the [...]
Volcanic ash cost Heathrow and Stansted £28m in losses April 29, 2010 AIRPORTS operator BAA took a £28m one-off hit from the six-day flight disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano. The group, which owns six airports in the UK including Heathrow and Stansted, said despite the impact of the volcanic ash, which forced them to close both London airports, it remained financially resilient. First quarter figures for [...]
