Cable demotion cheers Murdoch December 21, 2010 James Murdoch, the chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, was said to be “cock-a-hoop” last night, after Vince Cable was stripped of his role in deciding whether the satellite broadcaster can be taken over by News Corp. Sources close to Murdoch, who is also chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, said Cable’s demotion [...]
News Corp could bring legal action against Cable December 21, 2010 NEWS Corp was last night taking legal advice on whether to challenge Vince Cable’s decision to refer its bid for BSkyB to the media watchdog. Cable asked Ofcom to examine the deal on the grounds of public interest on 4 November – less than 24 hours after News Corp notified the European Commission of its [...]
Culture secretary to rule on BSkyB December 21, 2010 THE OUTCOME of News Corp’s bid to buy a majority stake in BSkyB will be decided by Jeremy Hunt, in the wake of Vince Cable’s comments that he had “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch. The business secretary, who has been stripped of his power to rule on the takeover, will no longer play a role [...]
Ofcom warns BT on competition December 21, 2010 Communications regulator Ofcom has warned BT it has infringed on competition law over its wholesale calls prices. The telecoms giant strongly denies the claims it squeezed margins by setting the price charged to other providers for its wholesale service at a level that would hit other operators between July 2008 and April 2009.
Cable to rule on Sky after EU approval December 19, 2010 THE EU is set to approve News Corporation’s £7.8bn takeover bid for the rest of BSkyB this week, bringing the firm a step closer to a buyout of the 61 per cent of Sky that it doesn’t already own. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has been forced to wait for the European Commission to confirm that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CLEGG WARNING TO BANKS ON BONUSES Nick Clegg has warned Britain’s banks that the government would not stand on the sidelines if they paid out lavish bonuses and failed to increase lending, increasing pressure on David Cameron to toughen his stance on the City. “They don’t operate in a social vacuum,” he told [...]
BT cannot hike prices to pay for retirement December 15, 2010 BT will not be allowed to increase the amount it charges rivals to use its infrastructure to help plug its pension deficit, communications watchdog Ofcom ruled yesterday. The move is a blow to the telecoms giant, which had hoped Ofcom would follow the example set by regulators of the postal, energy and water industries, which [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 13, 2010 GAME GROUP Brewin Dolphin had started covering the retailer with a “buy” rating and a three-month target price of 80p. The broker believes the stock is a strong candidate for active traders due to its volatility, and notes the firm’s market outperformance as mentioned in last week’s trading update. It looks forward to Game’s post-Christmas [...]
News Corp tries to woo EU over Sky December 2, 2010 NEWS Corp has submitted a series of proposals to the EU in a bid to ease concerns over its proposed takeover of BSkyB. It is understood Rupert Murdoch’s firm is willing to be bound by strict competition rules to avoid gaining an unfair advantage over rivals. However, company sources downplayed speculation Murdoch could sell key [...]
UK superfast broadband take-up lags December 1, 2010 THE UK has the worst take-up of superfast broadband of any major developed nation, new research by the communications watchdog has revealed. Just 0.2 per cent of people in the UK have access to broadband speeds of 30Mbits a second or higher. This compares to 34.4 per cent of people in Japan, 12 per cent [...]