Danish and French take on Swisscom November 25, 2009 FRANCE Telecom yesterday struck a deal with Danish peer TDC to boost their position in the small but affluent Swiss market and challenge local leader Swisscom. France Telecom will pay €1.5bn (£1.35bn) for a 75 per cent stake in a new company that has the assets and clients of TDC’s Sunrise and France Telecom’s Orange [...]
Efforts to stem FX inflows are futile November 24, 2009 WHEN Brazil introduced a tax on capital inflows last month, it was a clear sign that governments are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on their economies and on their currencies of a weakening dollar, and of foreign investors piling into their stock markets and bonds in search of higher yields. Other emerging nations have [...]
CBI boss Richard Lambert can see early signs of economic recovery November 19, 2009 THE worst is over for the British economy. At least, that was the message from Richard Lambert, the Confederation of Business Industry’s (CBI) thoughtful director-general, when we meet. “We have finally hit the deck,” he tells me, leaning forward. “Things are a lot better now than in the first quarter of this year. Where we [...]
Three banks get EU approval November 18, 2009 Plans by three major European banks to sell chunks of their operations in return for state aid were approved by EU authorities yesterday, marking the latest regulatory-enforced financial break-ups. In reviewing a raft of bank bailouts across the 27 European Union member states, the European Commission has forced lenders to divest assets, close branches, reduce [...]
Ray of hope for victims of bubblenomics November 16, 2009 THERE is much to be learnt from Japan’s disastrous performance since it suffered the mother of all bubbles in the late 1980s. Its woes were originally caused by excessive interest rate cuts in reaction to the dollar’s 51 per cent devaluation against the yen between 1985 and 1987, which hurt Japan’s export industries. Huge amounts [...]
How to get yourself headhunted November 11, 2009 PEOPLE in the City are beginning to shift their feet. After sitting tight in their jobs throughout the downturn, workers are sniffing out new roles in increasing numbers, according to figures from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley – it said yesterday that the numbers of those looking for a new position in October were up six [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 4, 2009 THE FINANCIAL TIMES OPEL U-TURN LEAVES GERMANY ANGRYGermany and Russia reacted furiously to General Motors’ surprise decision to keep Opel rather than sell it, throwing up fresh uncertainty about the future direction of one of Europe’s biggest carmakers. The news that GM’s board had abandoned the sale of Opel/Vauxhall to Canada’s Magna and Russia’s Sberbank [...]
Bank shake-up puts EU firmly in charge November 2, 2009 AS power shifts go, this one takes some beating. After months of listening to what the government, the Bank of England and the FSA have had to say about the future of British banking, it turns out that the body with real power was based a little further away from home. For this morning, barring [...]
Branson set to swoop on British bank assets November 2, 2009 VIRGIN is preparing to swoop on a string of UK banking assets to be put up for sale as part of a European Commission inquiry into competition in the sector, Sir Richard Branson confirmed yesterday. “We do plan to create a Virgin bank and we will be interested in looking at the three banks that [...]
Virgin Media: Why City A.M. is wrong about TV market November 1, 2009 IN his article last Friday about the pay TV market, City A.M.’s David Crow suggested that, by forcing Sky to wholesale its premium sports and movie channels to competing pay TV retailers, media regulator Ofcom is punishing Sky’s success. He compares Sky’s investment in sports and movies to car maker Toyota’s investment in hybrid fuel [...]