FTSE 100 index rebounds as oil prices climb and miners rally January 26, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed up on Tuesday as the price of oil rebounded and mining stocks began to rally. The UK's blue-chip index rose 0.59 per cent to 5,911 points, led by Anglo American and Glencore as the price of oil staggered back over $30 a barrel. "A short-squeeze in crude oil has dragged markets out [...]
Orange and Bouygues Telecom share price soars on confirmed merger talks but French telco deal faces competition probes January 5, 2016 France’s largest mobile operator Orange has confirmed merger talks with rival Bouygues, marking the latest step in European telco firms’ race towards consolidation. A deal between the two, merging France’s largest and third-largest operators, has been estimated to be worth €10bn (£7.3bn). Rumours of the talks were first reported by French newspaper Journal de Dimanche [...]
EU referendum: Full text of letter signed by FTSE 100 bosses backing Prime Minister David Cameron’s reform efforts is leaked February 22, 2016 It was first reported over the weekend that up to half of Britain's biggest businesses will voice their support for Prime Minister David Cameron's campaign to keep the UK in the European Union by putting their names to an open letter backing the reforms Cameron secured in Brussels last week. Now it looks like the full text [...]
Sky shakes off competition with profit rise despite Champions League loss October 21, 2015 Sky has shaken off rivals with a 10 per cent rise in profits while a 77 per cent surge in broadband subscribers was its biggest quarterly growth in four years. Operating profit across Sky Europe of £375m was slightly ahead of expectations for the three months to the end of September on revenue of £2.8bn, [...]
Visa, King and BG Group deals push global M&A over $4 trillion mark for the first time in November November 4, 2015 Visa's $23.3bn (£15.2bn) offer for Visa Europe on Monday tipped the volume of global mergers and acquisitions over the $4 trillion mark for 2015 so far – the highest it's ever hit by this point in the year. Research by Dealogic showed Visa, along with a gaggle of acquisitive tech and pharma companies, pushed global volumes 38 per cent higher [...]
CityFibre asks watchdog to level playing field after BT-EE merger March 23, 2015 High speed fibre optic firm CityFibre has attacked BT, saying its planned acquisition of EE would “stifle innovation” and “deliver little tangible benefit for consumers”. CityFibre revealed the objection this morning, saying that it submitted a formal complaint to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday. The company demanded Ofcom be allowed to enforce extra [...]
City Moves for 8 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 8, 2016 Whistl Postal operator Whistl has appointed home delivery specialist Christine Key to grow its packets and parcel division. Previous roles held by Christine in the delivery sector include sales director at Yodel/ Home Delivery Network, sales director DPD/GeoPost UK and commercial director at Parcelnet. Earthport Earthport, the cross-border payment specialist based in London, has appointed [...]
EU referendum: Business groups hit back at claims by Boris Johnson that business support for remaining in EU is not as strong as commonly thought March 23, 2016 Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said that business support for the European Union is not as zealous as people commonly think, in a clash with senior Tory MP Andrew Tyrie. Speaking to MPs, Johnson said that he is aware that organisations such as the CBI and the British Bankers Association are in favour of [...]
COP21 Paris climate summit: London climate march attracts “tens of thousands”, including Jeremy Corbyn, ahead of Paris UN deal talks November 29, 2015 Tens of thousands of people have turned out to attend a march in central London against climate change, reports suggest, as world leaders meet in Paris to agree a new deal for tackling the issue. The march, from Park Lane to Millbank outside parliament, coincides with the United Nations conference on Climate Change and is one of [...]
The Competition and Markets Authority wants to review O2 merger with three October 2, 2015 The UK's competition regulator has asked the European Commission for a review an upcoming deal to create one of the UK's biggest mobile operator to be referred to it. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that the proposed deal between Hutchinson's Three and Telefonica's O2 threatens to significantly affect competition in the UK mobile markets. This is because a successful [...]