FTSE buoyed by upbeat corporate results April 26, 2011 Strong corporate results and positive broker research buoyed the FTSE today, leading the market to its highest close in more than two months. The FTSE 100 closed 0.9 per cent higher at 6.069.36 in low volumes following the long Easter weekend and ahead of a second four-day weekend to celebrate the Royal wedding and Mayday. [...]
Blow for BT as judge supports piracy law April 20, 2011 BT AND TalkTalk have lost a landmark legal case attempting to halt the Digital Economy Act. A judge dismissed their arguments on all but one of the legal points they had made. The decision could lead to thousands of internet users suspected of copyright infringement being bombarded with warning letters and even having their connections [...]
Virgin Media hits forecasts April 20, 2011 Cable operator Virgin Media said it added 20,200 net new cable customers in the first quarter, drawn by fast broadband speeds and pay-TV, helping it to post solid results in line with forecasts. Virgin Media, which competes with pay-TV company BSkyB and telecoms and broadband providers such as BT, said its customers were also paying [...]
Why Fujitsu’s broadband plan will probably fail April 18, 2011 GEEK SPEAK @Steve_Dinneen Fujitsu is planning to roll out superfast broadband to 5m rural homes. That’s good, right? Broadband for you, broadband for me, broadband for everybody. We can all meet in a chat-room and discuss how great it is that someone in a bothy in rural Aberdeenshire can download the back-catalogue of My Family [...]
City veteran tries insurance April 18, 2011 INVESTMENT banker turned industry leader John Nelson is to fill the large shoes left by Lloyd’s chairman Lord Peter Levene from October. A City grandee whose finance career started at Kleinwort Benson and continued at Lazard, where he ran its corporate finance division for 13 years, Nelson is now best known for his leadership of [...]
Fujitsu may not hit broadband target April 18, 2011 THE TRUE cost of rolling out fibre broadband to 5m homes in rural areas could dwarf the figures being discussed by Fujitsu, according to industry experts. Analysts at RBS have placed the cost of providing fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) to rural areas at around £4.5bn – far above the £1.5bn to £2bn projected by Fujitsu. The Japanese [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 18, 2011 Ladbrokes Ladbrokes has appointed Ian Bull as chief financial officer, effective from 4 July, when he will report to Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn. Bull joins Ladbrokes from Greene King, where he was group finance director from 2006, contributing to the expansion of the business through organic growth and the acquisition of 2,500 pubs across [...]
John Nelson named new Lloyd’s chairman April 18, 2011 Lloyd’s of London has named John Nelson, a long-time City financier and chairman of real estate developer Hammerson, as its incoming chairman to replace Lord Levene. Nelson, a chartered accountant and corporate financier with Kleinwort Benson and Lazard, was chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston Europe from 1999 to 2002. He has since moved to [...]
Meet the 71-year old adventurer in the hostseat April 14, 2011 As Glencore unveils its London mega-float COLOUR and excitement returned to the City yesterday as Glencore announced a former French foreign legionnaire, Algerian war veteran, author, explorer and financier as its new chairman. Simon Murray (pictured) will be tasked with leading the firm’s up-to $11bn (£6.7bn) float, valuing it at about $60bn, the details of [...]
Fujitsu to roll out fibre internet to rural Britain April 13, 2011 Fujitsu has announced plans to deliver next generation internet services to 5m homes in rural Britain. It says it will provide the infrastructure and work with broadband providers including Virgin Media and TalkTalk, which will wholesale its fibre. Fujitsu says the network is a “ground breaking and innovative alternative to BT Openreach.” The open access [...]