Troubled Virgin Media turns the corner at last February 25, 2010 VIRGIN Media is a company with a troubled past. Having posted a full-year loss of £94.4m, it obviously still bears the scars. After 25 years of pain, however, the firm is finally turning a corner. The most impressive detail in yesterday’s results was the 28,600 net subscribers the firm signed up to its cable TV [...]
Changing the private equity model for good February 24, 2010 THE shift in investors’ attitudes towards private equity has been stark, with the relationship in some cases approaching complete breakdown. It is clearly an emotive subject – as evidenced by the response to the idea that IPO failures have given private equity a bloody nose. So what alternatives are there to the traditional private equity [...]
Telecoms giants welcome cross-party findings that a phone line tax is unfair… February 23, 2010 Telecoms heavyweights have thrown their support behind select committee findings that a phone line tax would be unfair for consumers. The cross party business innovation and skills committee said yesterday the plans would tax the majority to provide super fast broadband to the few. The £6 annual tax has been expanded from its initial focus [...]
London hits one-month high led by miners and oil stocks February 18, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a one-month closing high yesterday, extending its advance into a fourth consecutive session, led by commodity stocks on firmer metals and oil prices, and with banks also in demand. The FTSE 100 index closed up 48.45 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,325.09, its highest close since Jan. 21, after [...]
Vodafone: Google must be reined in February 16, 2010 VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao yesterday called on policymakers to address Google’s dominance in mobile advertising “before it is too late”. He used his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to launch a thinly-veiled attack on the internet search giant, arguing that its power could hinder consumer choice. Gesturing to a slide which showed [...]
Vodafone in iPhone war with O2 February 15, 2010 VODAFONE has stepped up its rivalry with O2 to become the UK’s biggest iPhone retailer. Analysts say a new £25-a-month deal sold without a handset is aimed at O2 customers whose iPhone contracts are up. Customers can request O2 unlock their phones, meaning Vodafone can poach customers without giving away handsets. Vodafone is keen to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERSn February 14, 2010 BT GROUP Charles Stanley says last week’s third quarter results from BT were positive, particularly for overall improvement in profitability, and a small uplift in full year cash flow guidance was also welcome. “However, overshadowing all this was the news on the pension fund, which was overall worse than expectations,” Stanley said. SMITH & NEPHEW Edison [...]
BT has £9bn pension hole February 11, 2010 BT yesterday revealed a yawning pension deficit of £9bn. Shares in the company – which now has the biggest pension deficit in the private sector – nose-dived as the extent of the black hole was revealed. The firm announced an agreement with trustees to pay back the vast sum over 17 years, adding £525m into [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF BT’S MASSIVE PENSION DEFICIT? February 11, 2010 ROS ALTMANN | INDEPENDENT PENSIONS EXPERT BT has a huge pension scheme with a massive deficit. The company is doing quite well, so it’s important it pays as much as it can into the scheme now. If it doesn’t, we could see a situation similar to British Airways, which is in serious trouble with its [...]
Banks suffer as concerns over their Greek exposure weigh February 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed 0.6 per cent higher on Thursday, as gains in commodities outpaced falls in banks, which remained mired in uncertainty over Eurozone’s plans to deal with Greece’s debt problems. BT Group slumped 8.8 per cent, topping the losers’s list on the FTSE 100 and hitting a more than six-month low after [...]