Vodafone and Telefonica to set up shared 4G grid June 7, 2012 Mobile operators Vodafone and Telefonica announced plans to create one shared grid in Britain to improve existing coverage and speed the roll out of superfast broadband networks. The two groups, who already had an agreement to share new network sites, said they would strengthen their partnership by pooling their basic network infrastructure to take their [...]
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt told he will not face ministerial code probe May 31, 2012 DAVID Cameron said yesterday he will not order an inquiry into whether Jeremy Hunt broke the ministerial code during News Corp’s controversial £8bn bid for BSkyB. The announcement came after the culture secretary’s appearance at the Leveson inquiry yesterday, in which he admitted he was sympathetic to the BSkyB bid and said he considered resigning after [...]
Lloyds bank brings two former McKinsey partners on board May 31, 2012 LLOYDS has appointed two ex-McKinsey partners as non-executive directors, including a former board member of the FSA. Carolyn Fairbairn will join the board today, having been a non-exec director of the FSA from 2008-2011. She was also an executive at ITV and has worked at the BBC, the World Bank and as a partner at McKinsey. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 28, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Disclosure reprieve for activist investors Activist investors appear to have won at least a reprieve from new regulation that would force them to declare their hand earlier when building a stake in a company. The passage of the Jobs Act by Congress in March has forced the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay [...]
3 threatens to exit UK market May 20, 2012 3, the UK’s fourth largest mobile network provider, is continuing its crusade against its bigger rivals. Last month Canning Fok, managing director of Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that owns 3, threatened David Cameron that the company could withdraw from the UK telecoms market unless 3 is guaranteed some airwaves in the upcoming auction [...]
Pesky regulators dash hope of top line growth May 10, 2012 IT SHOULD come as no surprise that BT chief Ian Livingston, a well-respected former bean counter, can cut costs. Operating costs fell by six per cent last year, enabling the group to grow earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by three per cent to £6.1bn. That means the company has met its £6bn [...]
Kelvin takes on Murdoch’s Sky sport channels May 7, 2012 KELVIN MacKenzie, the ex-editor of The Sun, will today march into battle against BSkyB, potentially going head to head with its majority owner and his former employer Rupert Murdoch. Sports Tonight, the TV channel founded by MacKenzie, will today challenge the exclusive broadcast agreement between BSkyB and the Football League by lodging a complaint with [...]
BSkyB says it is still fit to broadcast May 2, 2012 BSKYB yesterday defended itself against mounting political pressure over its biggest shareholder News Corp, insisting that it remains a “fit and proper” British broadcaster. News Corp also leapt into defence mode yesterday following a bruising parliamentary report on phone hacking at its subsidiaries. Its directors stated their “full confidence in Rupert Murdoch’s fitness and support [...]
BSkyB beats forecasts with record profits May 2, 2012 BSKYB yesterday shrugged off the furore surrounding its parent firm News Corp to post a record profit for the nine months to March. As rumours swirled about the firm’s future following a parliamentary report criticising News Corp and owner Rupert Murdoch, BSkyB delivered operating profit of £908m. Pre-tax profit rose 27.5 per cent to £899m. [...]
Oodles of cash: no wonder Murdoch wanted to buy May 2, 2012 SO that’s what all the fuss was about. Anyone wondering why Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy BSkyB outright, and why he will not sell down his 39 per cent stake without a fight, need only look at the satellite broadcaster’s third quarter results. Although the 15,000 new TV subscribers added in the quarter is nothing [...]