O2 – Three merger blocked by European Commission May 11, 2016 The European Commission competition regulator has blocked the planned takeover of O2 by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison. The deal would have seen Telefonica’s O2 merge with Hutchison's UK network Three in a deal valued at £10.25bn. The tie up would have reduced the mobile operators in the UK to three, leaving just Vodafone and BT’s EE to challenge the merged [...]
Japanese and European investment banks agree merger to create global M&A advisory May 9, 2016 A Japanese investment bank has agreed a merger with a European peer to create one of the world's largest listed M&A advisories. The combination of Japan's GCA Savvian and Altium creates a new international investment bank operating across ten countries, in cities such as London, Manchester, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York, Mumbai, Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. Read more: These two [...]
City Moves for 9 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 9, 2016 Parker Fitzgerald Parker Fitzgerald (PFG), the specialist management consultancy, has appointed Patrick Gormley (pictured) to its executive board. Patrick will lead the firm’s global digital practice, which focuses on transforming the risk management and regulatory compliance functions of financial institutions through digital innovation, robotics, artificial intelligence and new technologies such as blockchain. Patrick joins PFG [...]
Parking mad: London parking spaces sold for over £200,000 May 8, 2016 LONDON is one of the world’s most expensive places to pay for parking space. On Brewer Street in Soho, for example, you could spend over £50 on just three hours of parking. That may be why some mysterious buyers have forked out as much as much as half a million pounds to buy a parking [...]
At the close: Steady as she goes on the FTSE 100? May 5, 2016 Markets were put through their paces today, but failed to hold onto early gains as the bad stories just kept on coming. The FTSE 100 closed the day up 0.1 per cent at 6,117.25 after starting with a 40-point ascent in the first 90 minutes of trading. The French Cac 40 slipped back 0.3 per cent [...]
BT pledges double-digit dividends until 2018 as full year profits and revenues climb May 5, 2016 Revenues and profits at BT have risen during a "landmark year" for the business – the best performance in seven years – and pledged double-digit dividends as far as 2018. Investors were pleased with the news: BT's share price was up 3.2 per cent in early trading. The figures Revenues for the full year climbed [...]
BT to invest £6bn in fibre, 4G and customer service May 5, 2016 Telecoms giant BT has pledged to invest "around" £6bn over the next three years to ramp up the UK's superfast broadband and 4G coverage. The group, which revealed strong results this morning and the promise of double-digit dividends for the next couple of years, said the investment would lift the country's coverage beyond 95 per cent of the country [...]
Deutsche Telekom’s share price slumps despite staying on target for full year numbers May 4, 2016 A strong performance in the US has failed to prop up German carrier Deutsche Telekom's share price this morning. Revenue and profits managed to beat estimates, with adjusted earnings climbing to €5.16bn (£4.1bn), against analyst expectations of €5.1bn and up 12.9 per cent year-on-year. Sales rose by 4.7 per cent to €17.6bn, versus analysts’ estimates of €17.5bn. The company also said it was on [...]
Report commissioned by Channel 4 argues privatising broadcaster would be “overwhelmingly negative” May 4, 2016 Privatising Channel 4 would be “overwhelmingly negative” and could attract a maximum £500m, according to a new report commissioned by the broadcaster. The government is currently considering whether to sell off the channel, which is publicly owned but privately funded. Culture secretary John Whittingdale recently talked up the prospect of selling Channel 4, saying it [...]
Advertising watchdog to crack down on broadband pricing after finding customers were often left confused May 4, 2016 The advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is cracking down on broadband price claims. The changes, which will come into force on 31 October 2016, force companies to include line rental in the final price shown to customers. Earlier this year the ASA found many customers were confused by the way prices were presented, with [...]