What the other papers say this morning February 6, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Buyout firms seek £10bn EE bid Buyout firms have accelerated talks with lenders to secure funding for possible £10bn bids for EE, the UK’s largest mobile phone operator, in what would be the biggest private equity-backed acquisition in Europe since the financial crisis. The efforts have picked up in intensity in the past [...]
Four-play isn’t enough: Virgin should make this deal February 5, 2013 JOHN Malone’s bid makes good sense for Virgin Media. Born of the pioneering consolidation of UK cable and mobile firms to build Britain’s first quadruple-play media firm (providing broadband internet, fixed-line telephone, mobile telephone and television services), the resulting company has acknowledged it remains vulnerable to a larger-scale consolidation by its rivals. Joining a global [...]
ARM tops FTSE 100 February 5, 2013 The leading share index shrugged off its losses yesterday to jump 0.5 per cent in early deals, helped by strong corporate earnings updates. Chip maker ARM Holdings topped the FTSE 100 leader board in early deals, rising almost 4.5 per cent. This morning it posted a better-than-expected 16 per cent rise in fourth-quarter pre-tax profit. [...]
BT tops FTSE 100 February 1, 2013 The benchmark index rose back through the 6,300 barrier this morning, boosted by strong gains from telecoms firm BT. BT rose almost 3.8 per cent in early deals, on the back of a seven per cent jump in pre-tax profit over the three months to December thanks to strong demand for its fibre optic broadband. [...]
Strong broadband demand boosts BT February 1, 2013 Strong demand for broadband boosted BT’s pre-tax profits in the three months to December, it said this morning. Pre-tax profit jumped seven per cent to £675m in the third quarter, compared to forecasts of £632m. Over the nine months to December, profits soared eight per cent to £1.8bn. BT said it was adding around 100,000 [...]
New TV services lift Sky’s profits as rivals circle January 31, 2013 AN IMPRESSIVE showing from BSkyB’s new on-demand internet streaming service, Now TV, helped it to a 10 per cent rise in profits, the broadcaster said yesterday. Sky said that half of the 50,000 new TV customers it signed up during the last six months of 2012 were for Now TV, which charges customers £15 a [...]
Remote working: A new approach to 9-5 January 30, 2013 LAST November, Nick Clegg hit headlines when he made a speech on flexible working. His proposal may only have extended the right to request flexible working hours to all employees, but this phenomenon is here to stay. And it won’t exclusively be for the benefit of those with children. Flexible working can be an appealing [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 29, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Brussels softens line on ringfencing The European commissioner in charge of regulatory reform of the region’s banks has signalled a retreat from plans to force lenders to build barriers around their securities trading operations, as policy makers focus on stimulating growth. Michel Barnier told the Financial Times that any implementation of last year’s [...]
FTSE 100 smashes through 6,300 level January 29, 2013 The FTSE 100 nudged back over the 6,300 level this morning – which it smashed through for the first time in almost five years yesterday – as it edged up around 0.15 per cent. Steelmaker Evraz was the biggest blue chip gainer this morning, adding 2.38 per cent. Global miner Anglo American rose two per [...]
EasyJet chair to quit after three turbulent years January 27, 2013 EASYJET chairman Sir Mike Rake plans to step down from the board this summer, after three years of locking horns with the budget airline’s founder and biggest shareholder. Sir Mike faced down calls for his resignation last year from Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose family holds a 37 per cent stake in EasyJet. Sir Stelios dubbed [...]