Sardinia: an ancient, strangely empty idyll August 17, 2015 Elle McPherson was being photographed wearing a tiny white string bikini as she waterskied off the coast of Sardinia when I arrived. There was also breaking news that Silvio Berlusconi, currently hosting Vladimir Putin, had just sold his 68 room Bunga-Bunga palace – where he once entertained Tony Blair – to the Saudi Royal Family [...]
Vivendi confirms bid for YouTube rival Dailymotion April 7, 2015 Vivendi has confirmed a bid for Orange-owned YouTube rival Dailymotion. The French media group, which owns Universal Music and Canal+, confirmed reports it was in talks to buy a majority stake in the video site, in a deal thought to be worth €250m (£182.6m) for a 75 to 80 per cent share. Earlier, Hong Kong telecoms [...]
Vivendi battle rages on with Bollore under fire March 30, 2015 A BATTLE for the future of Vivendi heated up yesterday after US hedge fund P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM) took aim at group chairman Vincent Bollore. In a statement, PSAM accused the billionaire of putting his own interests ahead of those of other shareholders. The latest salvo comes after Bollore announced last Thursday he had [...]
Lastminute.com sold for £76m to Swiss travel firm December 16, 2014 TRAVEL site Lastminute.com, founded at the height of the dot.com boom in 1998, has been sold to Bravofly Rumbo Group in a £76m deal. The sale will see current owner, US-based Sabre, swallow a big loss, having bought the holiday site for £577m in 2005. Swiss company Bravofly made the winning bid yesterday, following a [...]
Are you making the most of the boredom effect? December 2, 2014 Studies suggest that more yawning can help boost your creativity. It's never been harder to be bored. Through personal music devices, podcasts or brief forays into the non-work-related web, the modern office dweller has a near endless supply of diversions ready for moments of tedium. Even the meeting – that epitome of workplace monotony [...]
A devastating crisis of confidence is holding state school leavers back November 4, 2014 I WOULD love to believe that we now live in a meritocratic nation, in which success depends on talent and hard work, rather than connections and class. But it is evidently not so. Last week, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) published a devastating study into the “old school tie” pay gap – analysing the [...]
Crowdfunding: A brief history March 26, 2015 It’s transforming the prospects of small businesses, but it’s still early days for crowdfunding in the UK. By the middle of this month, the Scottish National Party had raised nearly £35,000 on crowdfunding website Crowdfunder. It’s not the only party to turn to crowdfunding to bankroll its General Election campaign – over the past three [...]
Perform Group mulling £700m takeover bid by Len Blavatnik September 1, 2014 Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik’s investment group Access Industries said yesterday it is planning to buy out the remaining stake in Perform Group that it does not already control, in a deal that would value the London-listed internet sports distribution firm at £701.6m. Perform, which floated in 2011, saw its shares soar 26.35 per cent [...]
YouGov profiler: Arsenal fans more likely to shop for erotic products, Chelsea fans to have an interested in cosmetics and eight more surprising discoveries about London football fans November 17, 2014 London’s football fans are a varied bunch. From those at the glistening curves of the Emirates to the cheerful charm of Craven Cottage, the capital’s various football tribes all come with their own unique quirks and particularities. YouGov today released the awesome “profiler” tool which allows you to explore the trends particularly true of [...]
How much of an effect did the North Korea DDoS attack actually have? Here’s what we know about internet access in the country December 23, 2014 Reports of a massive, nine-and-a-half hour internet outage after a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in North Korea – possibly by the US, possibly in revenge for the Sony hack – have raised eyebrows. The country famously censors its internet to the point of uselessness. So just how much of an effect did [...]