Miners and debt concerns leave FTSE lower January 10, 2011 EXCITEMENT over takeover talks at joint replacement specialist Smith & Nephew was not enough to keep the FTSE in positive territory as miners weighed on the index today. The FTSE 100 closed down 37.39 points or 0.6 per cent at 5,946.94 as worries over demand for copper in China and the impact of floods in [...]
Six new rural areas go to superfast January 3, 2011 BT has revealed the next rural communities to be upgraded to its superfast broadband network. After a public vote BT announced Baschurch, Shropshire; Blewbury, Oxfordshire; Caxton, Cambridgeshire; Innerleithen, Scottish Borders; Madingley, Cambridgeshire and Whitchurch, Hampshire will be next to be fitted with BT’s Infinity fibre optic broadband. BT unveiled a £132m rollout in Cornwall in [...]
Ofcom warns BT on competition December 21, 2010 Communications regulator Ofcom has warned BT it has infringed on competition law over its wholesale calls prices. The telecoms giant strongly denies the claims it squeezed margins by setting the price charged to other providers for its wholesale service at a level that would hit other operators between July 2008 and April 2009.
BT cannot hike prices to pay for retirement December 15, 2010 BT will not be allowed to increase the amount it charges rivals to use its infrastructure to help plug its pension deficit, communications watchdog Ofcom ruled yesterday. The move is a blow to the telecoms giant, which had hoped Ofcom would follow the example set by regulators of the postal, energy and water industries, which [...]
BT sells 5.5pc stake in Tech Mahindra December 14, 2010 BT yesterday completed the sale of a 5.5 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra in a move that could pave the way for further share sales in the Indian telecoms firm. The sale takes BT’s stake in the firm down to 24.4 per cent, with the UK telecoms giant saying “further sales may be considered [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 13, 2010 GAME GROUP Brewin Dolphin had started covering the retailer with a “buy” rating and a three-month target price of 80p. The broker believes the stock is a strong candidate for active traders due to its volatility, and notes the firm’s market outperformance as mentioned in last week’s trading update. It looks forward to Game’s post-Christmas [...]
FTSE closes up but US uncertainty weighs on Wall Street December 9, 2010 LONDON’S FTSE 100 closed above 5,800 today for only the second time in almost a month, pushed up by financial services firms. Barclays, RBS and the Prudential were among the biggest gainers, while energy firm BG also rose more than three per cent and services firms Serco and BT also made the top ten. HSBC [...]
Virgin rolls out fastest broadband December 8, 2010 Virgin Media has started selling its new 100mbps broadband service. Customers in some locations can now sign up to the superfast service for £35 a month. Virgin says the service should be available across its network by mid 2012. It added that the service has the potential to carry speeds of up to 400mbps in [...]
Candover to sell CPL to its management December 6, 2010 CANDOVER Investments will spin off its private equity management arm to a group of its directors as part of its wider plan to wind down the firm. It will offload Candover Partners Limited (CPL) to new entity Arle Capital Partners, an investment advisory firm set up by the group of its executives, for a nominal [...]
Hunt unveils broadband plan December 6, 2010 BRITAIN should have a digital hub in every community to help it build Europe’s best broadband network by 2015, which could create up to 600,000 new jobs and add £18bn to GDP, the government said yesterday. Culture ministers Jeremy Hunt and Ed Vaizey, announcing an extra £50m for broadband pilots in remote and rural areas, [...]