Bonfire night 2014 London: Where to watch fireworks for Guy Fawkes and Lord Mayor’s Show in the capital tonight November 8, 2014 The Lord Mayor’s Show fireworks display will wrap up a week long bonanza of bonfire night celebrations across the capital tonight. Londoners have been treated to a selection of stunning displays, and while the central London show is likely to attract many, there are still a number of other firework events to head to elsewhere [...]
Moody’s downgrades BSkyB due to debt doubling after Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia acquisition November 7, 2014 Moody’s has downgraded BSkyB’s rating after its Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia acquisition more than doubled its funded debt to £7bn. BSkyB moves from Baa1 to Baa2 with a stable outlook, it’s second lowest investment grade, after the broadcaster picked up a larger share of Sky Deutschland than first expected. It picked up an additional [...]
BSkyB buys up lion’s share of Sky Deutschland November 6, 2014 PAY TV broadcaster BSkyB will own a larger-than-expected 87.45 per cent of Sky Deutschland once its takeover closes next week. The Sky Europe deal – as it has been dubbed with BSkyB buying up its Italian and German counterparts – will create a media empire spanning six countries and reaching 20m customers. With the purchase, [...]
Labour says party is united after Ed Miliband faces call to stand down from backbench MPs November 6, 2014 Less than 24 hours after Ed Miliband conducted a mini reshuffle of his shadow cabinet the Labour leader has been urged to stand down, according to the BBC. Two backbenchers have told Dave Watts, chairman of the parliamentary Labour party, Miliband should step aside. The Labour leader, who has been on the receiving end of [...]
BSkyB share price falls after it secures 87.45 per cent of Sky Deutschland November 6, 2014 BSkyB will own 87.45 per cent of Sky Deutschland once its takeover is completed next week, it said this morning. A larger-than-expected proportion of minority shareholders in the German pay-TV company accepted an offer of €6.75 per share from the British company. The takeover is due to be completed on 12 November, and will [...]
BT scores key win in battle for Sky Sports November 5, 2014 Britain’s largest pay TV broadcaster BSkyB was left bruised yesterday after a UK court ruled that it must make its flagship sports channels available to its biggest rival, a measure it had resisted for four years. The interim ruling is the latest episode in a four-year legal saga stretching back to an era when Sky [...]
Vince Cable writes to supermarket regulator over Tesco’s fractious relationship with suppliers November 5, 2014 At some point in the past few weeks, Business Secretary Vince Cable wrote to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to voice his concerns about the supplier base of troubled supermarket Tesco, according to Sky News. Cable is believed to told the GCA that he supports a comprehensive review of Tesco's relationship with suppliers and whether [...]
Goal for BT as BSkyB loses sports channel legal battle November 5, 2014 BSkyB will be forced to offer its sports channels to BT's YouView customers after it lost a legal battle with its new rival. The UK Competition Appeals Tribunal ruled today that rules which determine what price Sky must offer its channels at should also cover internet television services. Until now, the broadcaster has resisted providing [...]
Virgin Money re-launches IPO, Virgin America expects to raise $36m from its own offering November 3, 2014 Virgin Money’s stock market flotation is back on the table, as the UK challenger bank is understood to be re-launching its plans imminently. Meanwhile – across the Atlantic – low cost airline Virgin America could be valued at $1bn (£625m) if its initial public offering (IPO) goes to plan. Rocky market conditions last [...]
Space travel economics: Don’t damn the rich for splurging on Virgin Galactic November 3, 2014 “Never let a serious crisis go to waste”, concluded Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s ex-chief of staff. For our political commentators, a more accurate phrase might be “never let a tragedy go to waste”. Just days after the Mojave Desert crash of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft, the Guardian’s Zoe Williams has used the tragic incident to [...]