Huawei in bid to provide free mobile networks on the Tube February 20, 2011 CHINA’S biggest telecoms operator, privately-owned Huawei Technologies, is bidding to provide a mobile network for the London underground system in time for the 2012 Olympics. The equipment for the network would likely be provided free of charge, with tube operator Transport for London stressing that due to budgeting pressures, any such proposal would have to [...]
Legal eagle: how London’s top law firm retained its grip on the City February 20, 2011 The head of law firm Slaughter and May is two minutes late for his interview with City A.M., for which he immediately apologies. The first thing is surprising; the second is not. The partners in this blueblooded City institution have spent a lifetime doing things correctly. Even among other Magic Circle outfits, this firm manages [...]
Pernod fuelled by rise in demand from Chinese spirit drinkers February 17, 2011 FRENCH spirits manufacturer Pernod Ricard yesterday announced a strong rise in half-year profits for 2010 driven by growth in the expanding Chinese market. The firm reported half-year net profits of €666m (£560m) up from €604m the year before. Asian growth overall was particularly strong with sales up 29 per cent. Pernod said a gradual recovery [...]
Lenovo tops analyst forecasts February 17, 2011 Lenovo Group beat estimates with a 25 per cent jump in third-quarter net profit, its strongest result in more than two years, but a slowdown in its key home China market could affect its 2011 outlook. Economic uncertainty in mature markets such as the US and Europe might also offset the positive impact it gets [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES OAKTREE RETURNS INVESTOR’S CASH Oaktree Capital’s distressed investment fund has returned $3bn of the $10bn it raised from investors, reflecting its difficulties in finding opportunities as the economy improves, people familiar with the matter say. The fund, run by Bruce Karsh, was among the most aggressive buyers of distressed debt after the failure [...]
Why the London Olympic Games mean business February 16, 2011 THE extraordinary thing about the great Olympic stadium legacy debate is not that everyone has an opinion, although they do. No, it is that we are having this debate at all eighteen months before the start of the London games. Normally in a host city at this stage, the great debate is: will it be [...]
WHISKY, JAZZ, AND BETTING ON THE EURO February 16, 2011 WITH whisky tasting, a jazz band and the chance to win a sports car for the weekend on offer, WorldSpreads winter party (definitely not just a late Christmas do) was the place to be in the City on Tuesday night. Held in a candlelit crypt underneath St Etheldreda’s church near Chancery Lane, the night saw [...]
Bulgari MBA is the first of a new generation February 16, 2011 LUXURY brands are brilliant at marketing themselves, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before one put its name on an MBA. But the news that Italian luxury goods firm Bulgari has teamed up with Bocconi business school in Milan may raise a few well-plucked eyebrows. In the next cohort of MBA students, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JERSEY AND ISLE OF MAN OFFER TAX SOP TO BRUSSELS Jersey and the Isle of Man have announced changes to their corporate tax regimes in an effort to neutralise criticism from Brussels. Both crown dependencies said they were withdrawing laws that aim to stop local shareholders from avoiding personal income tax by rolling [...]
Commodities dent FTSE 100 despite strong banking stocks February 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S s top share index closed lower yesterday as strength in banking stocks, inspired by forecast-busting results from Barclays, was outweighed by a broad retreat in the mining sector on commodity price wobbles. The FTSE 100 index closed down 23.01 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,037.08. The FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and AIM 100 [...]