From albatross to global powerhouse February 3, 2011 WHEN Ian Livingston took the helm at BT, Global Services was a complete mess. One of the first things he had to do after becoming chief executive in 2008 was issue a dramatic profit warning due to underperforming contracts at the division, which competes with the likes of IBM for big corporate IT deals. Shareholders, [...]
Oil majors curb the FTSE 100 despite solid corporate news February 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, hurt by Royal Dutch Shell as the oil major’s results were met with disappointment, while drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline rose after it decided to push ahead with a buyback programme. The FTSE 100 shed 16.73 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,983.34, after closing 0.7 per cent higher on Wednesday. The [...]
BT profit lifted by Global Services February 3, 2011 BT reported a seven per cent increase in third-quarter core profit as it continued to cut costs, and said its recovering Global Services unit would be free cash flow positive this year. Britain’s biggest fixed-line services supplier said it had gained market share in retail broadband and now had 53 per cent of the market. [...]
Square Mile to get 15 mins of free Wi-fi a day January 30, 2011 WI-FI hotspot provider The Cloud will launch a program tomorrow offering everyone in the Square Mile 15 minutes of free wi-fi a day. The move is the first major announcement by the firm since it was snapped up by Sky last week for almost £50m. Sky plans to use The Cloud, which has around 22,000 [...]
THE HISTORY BOYS January 27, 2011 Our cricketers did it… Now it’s Murray’s turn Ferrer stands between Briton and a place in final as Federer crashes out BRITISH No1 Andy Murray heads into this morning’s Australian Open semi-final looking to take a huge step towards completing a memorable sporting double Down Under this winter. Following on from England’s first Ashes series [...]
The Cloud wi-fi network is target for Sky January 25, 2011 SKY is on the brink of snapping up wi-fi hotspot provider The Cloud in a deal analysts say could be worth around £100m. Sky is desperate to compete with rival BT, which offers its subscribers free access to its Openzone wireless network covering most of the country. The Cloud has around 22,000 hotspots across the [...]
BT told to lower prices January 20, 2011 BT came under fire yesterday as telecoms regulator Ofcom said it should make “significant reductions” to the wholesale price of its broadband to boost internet uptake in rural areas. Ofcom has proposed BT cut the price it charges other internet service providers to lease its broadband infrastructure by more than ten per cent in areas [...]
ENTREPRENEURS NEWS | IN BRIEF January 20, 2011 START UP DISCOUNT WEBSITE LAUNCHED The National Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year winner Nick Ogden launched a non-for-profit website (www.business.co.uk) that is designed to encourage entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. The website hopes to provide access to the discounts, offers and incentives that are available through partnership. The companies participating so far included [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 18, 2011 Fuller, Smith & Turner The brewer has appointed Lynn Fordham, chief executive of FTSE 250 private investment manager SVG Capital, to its board as a non-executive director. She will join both the remuneration and audit committees in addition to her seat on the board. Fordham has previously held senior financial, strategic and operational roles at [...]
YouView launch set to hit Sky January 17, 2011 BSKYB will come under pressure from new BBC-backed on-demand TV venture YouView, according to a new report by Evolution Securities. Media analyst Steve Malcolm also says Sky’s encroachment into its rivals’ broadband market – particularly BT and TalkTalk’s – is “overstated”. Malcolm estimates the digital switchover will soon bring Freeview and BBC and ITV-backed YouView [...]