Finance Matters

• 08Sep

  T-Mobile and Orange in UK merger

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  T-Mobile and Orange plan to merge their UK businesses, creating a mobile phone giant with 28.4 million customers.If completed, a deal between Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile and Orange owner France Telecom would see a firm with sales of 9.4bn euros (£8.2bn; $13.5bn). Holding about 37% of the mobile market it would be the UK’s largest provider, overtaking Telefonica’s O2. It is the second large corporate action in two days, after Kraft Food’s £10.2bn takeover proposal for Cadbury. Orange and T-Mobile said their deal – due to be signed by November – would “bring substantial benefits to UK customers”, and promised expanded network coverage, better network quality and improved customer services. However it is likely that competition authorities in the UK and EU will probe the deal. ‘Efficiencies’Both brands would remain separate for the first 18 months after the deal was completed while branding options were reviewed.
  This deal – if it goes ahead – will shake up the UK mobile mark…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Carlsberg and FA agree new deal

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The Football Association has agreed a further four year partnership deal with Carlsberg UK, sponsors of the England football team.It sees the beer brand retain its role as the official beer of the England national team and The FA Cup. The deal also extends to Wembley Stadium, where Carlsberg will continue as the exclusive poured beer. The news comes on the day the British Medical Association (BMA) called for an end to alcohol sponsorship of sport. By the end of the new four-year agreement, the FA’s relationship with Carlsberg UK will have lasted 19 years. Amateur benefitThe beer brand is already involved with the European Championships and several Premier League clubs, including as shirt sponsors of Liverpool. The latest deal “clearly states our continued commitment to delivering unique and exclusive activity that supports the trade in challenging times,” said Gareth Roberts, Carlsberg UK’s director of sponsorship. It is now also helping the FA in recruiting and retaining referees, whi…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Gold returns back above $1,000

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The price of gold has touched $1,000 an ounce for the first time in six months.The move could be seen as a sign that investors believe the worst of the global recession is over and are worried about inflation. Others who are less convinced about the strength of the recovery are moving into gold, which is usually sought as a haven from economic turmoil. Gold – seen as an attractive investment in times of inflation – has risen 13.6% in value this year. ‘Uncertainty’The US dollar – which often moves in the opposite direction to gold – has been declining during that same time. “Gold’s rising price is due to uncertainty all the way from personal investors right through to institutions,” said Sandra Close, an analyst at Surbiton Associates.
  “There are questions out there over the health of economies, where interest rates are going. All that encourages gold hoarding,” she said. Gold reached an all-time record of $1,032 an ounce in March 2008. The commodity is measured and sold in troy ounces….

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Barclays fined £2.45m by watchdog

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Barclays has been fined £2.45m ($4m) by the City watchdog for failures in the way it reported transactions carried out by its traders.The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said the bank did not have not have adequate systems and controls in place to meet regulatory requirements. There were also “a substantial number of errors” in the data submitted. The FSA came across the errors while probing suspected insider trading by a third party, unconnected to the bank. ‘Extensive’ investmentThe breaches took place throughout 2007 and 2008, “despite repeated reminders to firms of their obligations to provide accurate data”, according to the watchdog. Barclays escaped an even bigger fine of £3.5m after the FSA offered a 30% discount following the banking giant’s co-operation. Director of markets for the FSA, Alexander Justham, said the fine reflected “the serious nature of Barclays’ breaches and is a warning to other firms that the FSA will not tolerate inadequate systems and contro…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Tenants’ bargaining power ‘eases’

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Tenants’ bargaining power has weakened as fewer properties are coming onto the rental market, say surveyors.The falling cost of renting slowed in the three months to July, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Homeowners who need to move are seizing the opportunity to sell in a more stable market, rather than letting properties as reluctant landlords. This means tenants have less opportunity to haggle on price. However, Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, said that tenants were still in a “relatively strong” position compared with two years ago. SurveyFewer surveyors reported falls rather than increases in rent in the latest Rics survey, compared with the same poll three months earlier. While they believe that rents are likely to continue to fall in the next three months, this would be at a slower rate than previously. This offered more options for homeowners, according to Chris Norris, of the National Landlords Association. “People who may…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  China unveils its largest plane

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  China has unveiled the design of what will be its largest locally-made commercial aircraft.The jet, a single-aisle C919 with up to 190 seats, will only be ready for test flights in 2014 and delivery in 2016. But it is another step towards China’s long-term goal of producing more products for domestic use rather than being the manufacturer for the world. China has become the world’s second-largest market – and fastest growing – for commercial aircraft. ‘Superpowers’The plane is made by Comac, a unit of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China. “It’s the first time that China has put a face in front of the global aviation industry,” said Richard Thiele, who works for the organiser of the air show in Hong Kong where the C919 debuted. China has been the focus of much attention from the two dominant players of aerospace – Europe’s Airbus and Boeing of the US. Airbus is the first of the world’s big two aircraft-makers to have a full production facility in the country, and recently del…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  McDonald’s loses battle to stop restaurant calling itself McCurry

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
  McCurry owners P Suppiah and Kanageswary Suppiah on their legal victory
  The American fast-food giant McDonald’s has lost an eight-year legal battle to prevent a Malaysian restaurant calling itself McCurry.McDonald’s argued that the use of the “Mc” prefix infringed its trademark. But the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that there was no evidence to show McCurry was trying to pass itself off as part of the McDonald’s empire. The owner of McCurry insists its “Mc” prefix is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry. Long processMcDonald’s, which has more than 170 outlets in Malaysia, first sued the McCurry restaurant in 2001.
  A High Court ruled in favour of the international chain in 2006, but then McCurry took the case to the Court of Appeal, which overturned the ruling. McDonald’s then went down its final legal avenue, taking the case to the Federal Court. But chief judge Arifin Zakaria said on Tuesday that the three…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Carmakers boost UK manufacturing

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  UK manufacturing output rose at its fastest rate in 18 months in July, helped by a sharp pick up in car production, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said factory output rose by 0.9% from June – three times what analysts had forecast. However manufacturing output was down by 10.1% on a year earlier. The July figure was revised upwards from 0.5% to 0.6%, but the ONS said it would have little impact on GDP. The manufacture of motor vehicles rose 10.4% in July from June – and was one of the main reasons for the rise in manufacturing output. Retail woesThe strength of the figures was a “welcome surprise” said Brian Hilliard, an analyst with Societe Generale, adding they signalled the UK would be returning to growth in the third quarter of 2009. Earlier, figures showed retail sales fell in August after two months of increases, casting doubt on a prolonged recovery in High Street consumer spending. UK like-for-like sales – which do not include new stores – fell 0…

  Click to read the full article »
• 08Sep

  Repossession risk areas in focus

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Residents of England are more likely to have their homes repossessed if they live in the North West or the West Midlands, the government suggests.A new advertising campaign urging people to seek advice when struggling with mortgage payments will be concentrated in these areas. Some 300,000 people have received advice on the subject since April 2008. But only 15 families have completed a process allowing them to stay as tenants in the homes they once owned. Greater numbers have been through schemes set up in Wales and Scotland, but Northern Ireland is awaiting funding for its own version. The 22 areas of England which the government considers as repossession hotspots include: Barking and Dagenham, Corby, Knowsley, Salford, Newham, Walsall, Redditch, Halton, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Bolton, Reading, Swindon, Northampton, and Cannock Chase. It also highlighted major conurbations such as: Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sunderland, Wigan, and Kingston-upon-Hull. AdsThe gover…

  Click to read the full article »
• 07Sep

  Pinstripe suits fall out of favour with dress-down bankers

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The latest casualty of the recession is the pinstripe suit, according to London’s top tailors.
  Members of the Savile Row Bespoke Association say customers are opting for conservative styles, with bold designs and brash stripes falling out of favour. John Hitchcock, managing director of Anderson and Sheppard, has been in the business for 40 years. Although it feels as though time has stood still in his beautiful wood-panelled London shop, he has noticed a change. “Stripes are more difficult to wear, especially if you’re only going to buy one suit,” he says. His customers often choose a plain suit, or a linen one, which they can wear outside the office. Armageddon men?But it’s not just about choosing a versatile style, says author and style writer Nick Foulkes: “People don’t want to be identified as bankers, because bankers are now seen as wreaking havoc and Armageddon.” Even so, he is not put off by the image when choosing his own clothes, even though he confesses to being the only man…

  Click to read the full article »

« Previous Entries   Next Entries »