FTSE 100 falls again as price slump hits oil sector – London Report October 20, 2014 Britain’s top equity index resumed its fall yesterday, giving back half the gains made in the previous session, as investors reckoned with reduced earnings expectations for oil companies after a slump in oil prices. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 43.22 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 6,267.07 points, after rising 114 points on [...]
NFL chiefs open to establishing a London team October 20, 2014 NFL executives have confirmed they plan to consider establishing a London franchise, though they insist that they are in no hurry to make the long-mooted proposal a reality. American football has never had greater presence in Britain, with Wembley set to host the second of three sold out regular-season games this year on Sunday when [...]
In pictures: Firefighters investigate fire at Didcot B power station October 20, 2014 Firefighters say they're investigating a massive blaze at the gas-fired Didcot B power station in Oxfordshire, which broke out last night. The fire started in one of the station's cooling towers at about 8pm, with 25 fire engines and 100 firefighters tackling it at its height. One of the station's two "modules", which between them [...]
Tesco’s profits overstatement might be less than it thought October 18, 2014 Did Tesco overestimate its overestimate? The supermarket last month claimed to have discovered a profits black hole of £250m, but now it looks like that figure could be less than originally thought. Sources have told Sky News that the grocer is likely to tell the City it had a shortfall of between £200m and £250m [...]
Digital services send BSkyB’s profits soaring October 16, 2014 PAY TV broadcaster BSkyB reported a solid start to its financial year yesterday as revenues, profits and subscribers rose in the first quarter, prompted by sales of add-ons such as Sky Go. Sky increased its revenue by six per cent to £1.9bn for the three months to 30 September, with adjusted profit up nearly 13 [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of BSkyb’s first quarter financial results? October 16, 2014 STEVE LIECHTI | INVESTEC First quarter figures are good, with better profit growth than we expected and confident overall trading comment. We remain neutral/mildly negative given competitive pressures in UK pay TV and some uncertainty over how the new Sky Europe plays out, particularly in Italy. PAUL RICHARDS | NUMIS The operational highlight was the [...]
BSkyB sees off BT with profit and revenue rise in first quarter October 16, 2014 BSkyB has reported a good start to its financial year after ear-marking £5.3bn for Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia with a rise in revenue, profit and subscribers in the first quarter, slightly ahead of expectations. The British broadcaster increased revenue by six per cent to £1.9bn for the three months to September 30, with operating [...]
US budget deficit falls to lowest level since 2007 October 15, 2014 The US economy has passed another landmark. According to the US Treasury, the budget deficit has shrunk to 2.8 per cent of GDP, its lowest level since the blue skies of pre-crisis 2007 were above it. The amount the government has to borrow to meet its outgoings is down from $680.2bn in the 12 [...]
HBO to launch streaming service next year October 15, 2014 HBO will launch a stand-alone over-the-top service for its content next year, chief executive Richard Plepler revealed today. The network’s acclaimed TV shows, such as The Sopranos, True Detective, Girls and The Wire, are currently unavailable on existing over-the-top services such as Netflix. But if you’re reading from the UK, don’t get too [...]
Balfour Beatty names Leo Quinn as new chief exec October 14, 2014 Balfour Beatty’s share price soared this morning after revealing it had snagged Leo Quinn, chief executive of QinetiQ, to lead it out of troubled waters after a turbulent year and a series of profit warnings. Quinn, who has headed up defence technology company QinetiQ since 2009, takes over from Andrew McNaughton who stepped down after [...]