Royal Mail deliver the goods with profit leap November 13, 2012 ROYAL Mail yesterday fuelled government hopes of delivering the firm into private sector hands next year after posting a jump in profits on the back of the boom in online shopping. The group, which is 100 per cent owned by the taxpayer, posted operating profits of £144m for the six months ending 23 September this [...]
Merger talks for historic publishers October 25, 2012 PEARSON revealed yesterday it is in talks with German media powerhouse Bertelsmann to merge its book publishing arm Penguin with Bertelsmann’s Random House. A deal would see a combined company worth around £2bn, with Pearson likely to own a minority share. The merger would also create a company with greater clout when negotiating with technology [...]
Hodge to quiz Google on tax amid questions about her family firm November 11, 2012 LEADING companies will today appear in parliament to answer questions on their alleged tax avoidance – but the Labour MP who summoned them faces questions about financial arrangements at her own family company. Margaret Hodge, head of the public accounts committee, is set to quiz representatives of Google, Starbucks and Amazon following claims the multinational [...]
Recession shouldn’t stop tech innovation November 28, 2012 THE financial crisis has forced companies to operate in new and challenging environments. Many are now leaner organisations, the result of significant cutbacks in both staff and operations. But a simple trimming down is not a solution for the medium or longer term. A lot of companies are still clinging to in-house research and development [...]
What the other papers say this morning September 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU faces bacon shortage as herds fall A global shortage of bacon beckons as European farmers continue to cull their pig herds in the face of higher feed prices, an industry association is warning. Data showing the EU pig herd is declining “at a significant rate” in a trend mirrored around the world [...]
What the other papers say this morning September 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU faces bacon shortage as herds fall A global shortage of bacon beckons as European farmers continue to cull their pig herds in the face of higher feed prices, an industry association is warning. Data showing the EU pig herd is declining “at a significant rate” in a trend mirrored around the world [...]
Imagination falls on Texas fears September 26, 2012 Shares in British chip designer Imagination Technologies took an 8.6 per cent hit yesterday after key partner Texas Instruments said it would stop making processors for smartphones and tablets. Investec said the move from Texas Instruments – which uses Imagination designs for chips in devices such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire – could hit profits by [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Tories plot cash-for-seats offer Senior Conservatives are plotting an audacious “cash-for-seats” offer to Nick Clegg, where the Liberal Democrat leader would back a Conservative-friendly Commons boundary review in exchange for millions in state funding for his party. US woman takes on banks over Libor A pensioner whose home was repossessed is taking on [...]
Microsoft pins its hopes on Windows 8 October 25, 2012 MICROSOFT last night took the wraps off Windows 8, the most radical redesign in the operating system’s history, in a bid to reignite consumer interest in the company ahead of today’s launch. Steve Ballmer, the technology giant’s chief executive, also showed off the Surface, Microsoft’s first tablet computer, at yesterday’s event in New York. “We [...]
Fifty Shades and Olympics harm Harry Potter printer Bloomsbury October 25, 2012 HARRY Potter publisher Bloomsbury has seen profits almost halve in the last six months as sales of its children’s and educational books have suffered. The firm also said sales of adult books had been lower than expected, due to the market being dominated by Fifty Shades Of Grey and the disruptive effect of the Olympics. [...]