Ex-ARM boss joins BT as non-exec October 23, 2013 Warren East, the former CEO of Cambridge based chip designers ARM Holdings, will BT as a non-executive director. That appointment will take effect from 1 February (release). East led the creation of ARM's Design Consulting and Development Tools business, and when it went public in 1998 he took up the role of vice president of [...]
SocGen analyst warns that central banks are ignoring housing bubbles amid market euphoria – just like in 2008 October 23, 2013 Many central bankers claim that they're making progress on the problems that caused the financial crisis – but Societe Generale analyst Albert Edwards doesn't believe them. He says that "exactly the same bozos who missed the last bubble deny there is one now." In November 2008 Queen Elizabeth II asked why "no-one saw it coming". [...]
UK needs to be HS2 ready says Lord Deighton October 23, 2013 A growth taskforce led by Lord Deighton has said towns and cities across the UK need to be "HS2 ready." The taskforce has made the claim that the controversial project is a once in a generation chance change the face of the country. Commercial secretary and HS2 Growth taskforce chair Lord Deighton said on Wednesday: [...]
Spanish recovery unlikely to reduce unemployment says Capital Economics October 23, 2013 It is doubtful whether Spain's recovery will be strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate and public debt significantly over the next two years, according to Capital Economics. The Bank of Spain on Wednesday confirmed that Spain had exited a two-year recession largely due spike in exports. Ben May, European economist, Capital Economics: The rise [...]
Government will supply fuel to Scotland as Grangemouth closure interrupts supply October 23, 2013 Ed Davey, secretary of state for energy and climate change, has spoken on Ineos' closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland, saying that the government "is saddened by this move". Davey said that the plant has significance both for the local community and the Scottish economy. Davey urged the two parties to continue dialogue [...]
Cameron reiterates support for innovation-destroying energy market interventions October 23, 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron has voiced support for energy market intervention in a heated session of Prime Minister's Questions today. While the Prime Minister did support "rolling back the costs that have been imposed on people's energy bills" in the form of energy sector levies, he reiterated his backing for intervention that he claims will [...]
EU drafts new regulation to clampdown on high frequency trading October 23, 2013 The European Parliament has drafted a deal with national governments for tougher regulation of high frequency trading (HFT). The new measures will add to the plethora of new financial regulations already proposed by EU Commissioner, Michel Barnier, including shifting derivatives trading onto regulated markets and restrictions on commodity speculation. Christian Social Union MEP, Markus Ferber [...]
BBM sees over 10m downloads for Android and iPhone in first 24 hours October 23, 2013 In less than 24 hours over 10m customers have downloaded Blackberry's instant messaging app – BBM – now available on Android and iOS platforms, making it one of the best single-day openings for a mobile app. Whether many will use the service is another matter. Rival messenger WhatsApp has a pretty entrenched position as its [...]
Asos, Sports Direct and Home Retail results stronger – but this is a success for e-street not the high street October 23, 2013 We've seen trading updates from a host of retailers this morning. Asos saw full year pre-tax profits beat consensus forecasts, Home Retail's Homebase and Argos saw like-for-like sales up 5.9 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively in 26 weeks, and Sports Direct saw total sales up by 15.1 per cent in nine. But don't [...]
Ofcom offers new protection against mid-contract price rises October 23, 2013 Individuals and businesses will be allowed to leave their landline, broadband or mobile contract without a penalty if their provider increases the cost their monthly deal. Ofcom announced on Wednesday that it will instruct providers how to interpret and apply, telecoms sector rules with regard to price rises during fixed-term contracts. Ofcom also confirmed the [...]
