Britain decries Syria bloodshed February 6, 2012 Britain yesterday recalled its ambassador from Damascus and the US closed its embassy in Syria in a bid to force President Bashar al-Assad to leave power and halt the fast-growing death toll. As Syrian troops targeted the city of Homs, Foreign secretary William Hague hit out at Russia and China’s veto of a recent UN [...]
Putin protests gather steam February 5, 2012 Vladimir Putin’s opponents vowed yesterday to press on with demonstrations against his 12-year domination of Russia after tens of thousands attended a march which kept up the momentum of their protest movement. “We’ll be back,” the organisers said on a social network site, one day after demonstrators defied the cold to stage the third mass [...]
LOOK BEYOND THE UK TO CASH IN ON GROWTH February 5, 2012 THE UK is full of chief executives facing the harsh reality of uncertain home markets for years to come. So, with forecast sales flatlining – what is an entrepreneur to do? Successful companies are finding new customers and markets beyond our shores. In our recent global survey of over 400 companies, India (34 per cent) [...]
Zynga soars but Facebook has yet to fly February 2, 2012 ZYNGA shares jumped 17 per cent yesterday following Facebook’s revelation that 12 per cent of its 2011 revenues came from the social gaming company. Facebook’s IPO filing on Wednesday also confirmed that Morgan Stanley will lead the troupe of underwriters, who could accept a fee of just one per cent in their keenness to land [...]
Coryton attracts 40 suitors February 2, 2012 UK REFINERY Coryton has attracted more than 40 interested parties following the insolvency of its owner, Swiss refining group Petroplus and some of them are “very credible,” its administrator said yesterday. “There have been over 40 expressions of interest from the speculative to the highly credible,” said Katherine Howbrook, a spokeswoman for PwC. “There have [...]
Statoil seeks Iraq sale consent February 2, 2012 Norway’s Statoil wants to sell its stake in a giant 12.9bn barrel oilfield in southern Iraq to Russia’s Lukoil, and the Iraqi oil ministry has no objection “in principle”, an Iraqi oil official said yesterday. Statoil holds 18.75 per cent of the West Qurna Phase-2 field, with Lukoil at 56.25 per cent and Iraq’s North [...]
Outlook grim for Unilever as markets slow February 2, 2012 CONSUMER goods group Unilever said 2012 will be a difficult year as growth in emerging markets, which accounts for more than half its business, slows and demand in Europe and North America stays flat at best. The gloomy outlook sent shares in the Anglo-Dutch group sharply lower yesterday after it broadly matched 2011 sales growth [...]
London office take-up falls but tech firm demand soars February 1, 2012 TAKE-UP of central London offices fell by 27 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year, as the global economic slowdown continued to take its toll, according to research by Knight Frank. The property consultancy said take-up fell to 10.7m square feet last year. However, this coincided with a fall in supply and doubling [...]
Spurs snatch Saha late to beat deadline January 31, 2012 ● Striker joins from Everton, Nelsen set to follow ● Pavlyuchenko, Pienaar and Bassong let go ● QPR finish spree by signing Fulham’s Zamora TOTTENHAM pulled off a deadline-beating late swoop for Everton striker Louis Saha last night as clubs shook off their lethargy and whipped up a frenzied finish to the January transfer window. [...]
The Games are the starting gun for race to transform British innovation January 31, 2012 Cisco has a growth plan for the UK, and Neil Crockett reveals why the Olympics is the perfect catalyst Q.What WAS YOUR BRAND’S PRIMARY REASON FOR BEING Involved with the games? A.It’s the first time worldwide that Cisco’s ever been involved in anything like this as a sponsor. We’ve been a supplier: we supplied to [...]