What you need to know before the open May 1, 2014 A flat open is expected this morning after a further taper from the Fed yesterday. Investors didn’t seem to focus too much on the weather-induced shock drop in first quarter growth in the US – to just 0.1 per cent, looking instead at the more confident Fed statement, strong ADP employment report and Chicago manufacturing [...]
BT extends free TV sport offering until 2015 for its 5m subscribers April 30, 2014 BT’S BROADBAND customers will get free BT Sport channels for another year after the company said it has no plans to charge over the next sporting season. The telecoms giant yesterday announced that its sports coverage, for which it has invested around £2bn on securing sporting rights, will continue to be free for new and [...]
City Moves for 29 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 28, 2014 Interactive Investor The execution-only stockbroker has announced the appointment of Linda Summers as chief marketing officer. She was most recently at Skype, where she was director of product and partner marketing. Prior to that, Summers held roles at O2/Telefonica and BT. GLG Partners The investment management firm has appointed Andy Li as co-manager of its [...]
City Moves for 28 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 28, 2014 Octopus Investments The fund management company has appointed Alex Miller as chief operating officer. He was most recently at Lloyds Bank, where he was director of strategy and operational performance. Prior to that, Miller held senior roles at BT Group and Orange UK. HSBC The bank has announced the appointment of Ian Stuart as head [...]
Spotlight on Financial Fair Play in Football: Uefa forced to defend FFP’s independence April 24, 2014 EUROPEAN football’s governing body Uefa was forced into a PR offensive yesterday after their president Michel Platini appeared to state that no clubs would be banned for breaking new financial fair play (FFP) rules. The suggestion raised significant questions about Uefa’s willingness to get tough on serious offenders, and what influence, if any, Platini might [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 16 April 2014 April 15, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Market troubles dent Moelis flotation Boutique investment bank Moelis raised $163m from its US initial public offering after last-minute investor concerns forced it to shrink the size of its share sale and cut the price of the deal below its expected range. The IPO is the latest to come under pressure on the [...]
TalkTalk teams up with Sky to square up to BT April 15, 2014 TALKTALK and Sky will bypass BT’s national fibre broadband network, which they complain overcharges and under-delivers, with a trial of their own dedicated fibre network in York. Sky and TalkTalk will both plough £5m into the new joint venture, in partnership with CityFibre, which they say will surpass speeds offered by BT. “This is a [...]
City mourns bow-tied branding pioneer Olins April 15, 2014 TRIBUTES have been flooding in following the news yesterday of branding legend Wally Olins’ passing on Monday. The man who not only rebranded British Telecoms as BT, but also made wearing black rimmed glasses and bow ties cool long before east London’s hipsters got hold of them, has died of a short illness, aged 83. [...]
Watchdog set to probe BT’s fibre pricing April 14, 2014 BT IS PREPARING for a battle with the regulator to defend its wholesale pricing of superfast fibre to other operators such as Sky and TalkTalk. Last May TalkTalk complained to Ofcom, alleging that BT had been abusing a dominant position by making the wholesale price, that all providers pay, too close to its own fibre [...]
Musical adaptation of film is a certain hit April 13, 2014 THEATRE DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS The Savoy Theatre | By Alex Dymoke Four Stars STARRING Robert Lindsay, Zoe Wanamaker and the guy from the BT adverts, My Family was the sitcom equivalent of Michael McIntyre; good-natured mass-market comedy so inoffensive it ended up offending the chattering classes. Lindsay played flustered middle-class dentist Ben Harper, a far [...]