BIRLEY CAPS NUMBERS AT HIS DELAYED £20M CLUB January 17, 2012 THE DEVELOPMENT of 5 Hertford Street is progressing “more or less” on track. That’s more or less as in originally scheduled for last November, before being pushed back to this month and now – final answer – March. “Except that’s Easter,” says a spokesman for Robin Birley, the leisure entrepreneur developing the £20m Shepherd Market [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 16, 2012 FEDERAL GRID COMPANY (GDR) Goldman Sachs transfers its coverage of Russia’s largest electricity transmission company grid from the local stock exchange to its global depositary receipt listing in London, rating it as a “buy” with a target price of $7.50. The broker says news flow on Russian power utilities reached its most negative in autumn [...]
Powering your trading ambition January 16, 2012 AS MORE and more providers hone their mobile trading apps, you can almost trade from anywhere. But if you are serious about your trading then you will probably want a dedicated computer. But what features are important and what do you get for your money? Generally speaking, you will get faster processing, the ability to [...]
Djokovic dominance to continue in Melbourne January 12, 2012 AUSTRALIAN OPEN Does anyone fancy Novak Djokovic to better his incredible 2011 season? The Serbian won three Grand Slams, a record-breaking five Masters 1000 titles and 10 tournaments overall. He earned over $12 million last year alone, the same as fifth-ranked David Ferrer’s career earnings. Djoko’s achievements are no less impressive when you remember that [...]
MARIO’S BEMUSING MUSINGS ON BEAUTY January 11, 2012 THE GREAT Pyramids of Giza? An ugly pile of weirdly-angled rocks. The Statue of Liberty? Just a rusty shard of copper wearing a silly hat. The Colosseum in Rome is still far too paltry a landmark, but at least we’re getting warmer geographically. No, for the human race’s biggest achievement, one must go to Brussels. [...]
BSkyB signs $15m tie-up with Zeebox January 9, 2012 BSKYB has acquired 10 per cent of social TV network Zeebox in a move that grants the broadcaster exclusive rights to use the two-month-old start-up’s technology in its own apps. While no sum was officially disclosed, Zeebox chief executive Ernesto Schmitt tweeted that BSkyB parted with more than $15m (£9.7m) in the deal. Co-created by [...]
Start-up founders extract a tidy sum January 9, 2012 AN interesting deal this. Industry sources put the price of BSkyB’s stake in Zeebox at a rich $15m (£9.7m), implying a valuation of $150m for a start-up that was launched just two months ago. Extrapolating a price tag mightn’t be entirely fair, because Sky is also buying the rights to integrate Zeebox’s technology into its [...]
Netflix and Lovefilm battle for UK market January 9, 2012 US video streaming service Netflix began its attempt to take over the UK market yesterday, ruffling the feathers of home competitors such as Lovefilm and Sky Movies. British customers can pay £5.99 per month for unlimited access to Netflix’s online emporium of films and TV programmes that can be streamed on a range of gadgets [...]
The man gunning for Sky in the battle to be king of the movies January 9, 2012 IT’S a brave man who takes on BSkyB. The UK’s undisputed champion of subscription TV continues to go from strength to strength, seemingly impervious to the problems facing its biggest shareholder. But there is a new kid in town who wants to muscle in on the action. Netflix launched its video streaming service in the [...]
Be amazed by Africa’s stunning wilderness January 8, 2012 WE set off from London hotly anticipating both the serenity of the Mozambican beach and the rugged landscape and heart-pounding thrill of hunting (seeking not shooting) big game in the Tanzanian bush. It’s a trip that perfectly encapsulates the word “safari” – “long journey” in Swahili – for it takes in seven flights, five boat [...]