How the big channels are defying the odds to prosper July 25, 2008 Anyone who wants to understand something fundamental about the media just has to hold a single number in their head – 38,000. It’s a decent size for most football crowds or those willing to watch a Wagner opera the whole way through. But it doesn’t exactly pass muster as the ratings for a top US [...]
Merrill Lynch sells stake in Bloomberg July 17, 2008 Investment bank sells its 20 per cent stake in the media giant but keeps BlackRock US giants Merrill Lynch, today expected to reveal its fourth consecutive quarterly loss, has reached a deal to sell its stake in financial terminal and data provider Bloomberg for an estimated £2.2bn ($4.5bn). Merrill Lynch, which has a 20 per [...]
Scolari dealt £6.5m poser for Lampard July 8, 2008 Frank Lampard’s future at Chelsea will become all the clearer today when new Blues boss Luiz Felipe Scolari faces the English media for the first time. Scolari finally met his players at the club’s Cobham training ground yesterday amid suggestions that Inter Milan have tabled a £6.5m bid for England midfielder Lampard. Speculation was also [...]
ABI: Darling must end ‘ill considered’ taxes July 24, 2008 Chancellor Alistair Darling must put an end to “ill-considered” tax measures and create greater tax certainty to enable British businesses to compete internationally and encourage investment from overseas, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). A report published today puts forward a series of proposals that it thinks will help see Britain through the [...]
Transfer free-for-all signal worrying times July 10, 2008 Whether it’s it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid saga, Frank Lampard’s proposed move to Inter Milan or Emmanuel Adebayor’s exit from Arsenal there seems to be a worrying trend dominating the European transfer market at the moment. For some reason we now have a no holds barred situation where clubs are advertising their intended target through [...]
Lampard and Drogba will stay at Chelsea, says ‘So-So One’ Scolari July 9, 2008 Luiz Felipe Scolari yesterday announced his arrival as Chelsea manager by insisting that, contrary to expectation, midfielder Frank Lampard and striker Didier Drogba would not be departing the club. Lampard is the subject of a renewed £7.9m bid by Inter Milan and is yet to commit his future to Chelsea, but, speaking in his first [...]
Arsenal’s Hleb refutes rant at team-mate and manager July 9, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb last night attempted to build bridges with the club by denying reports he had launched a verbal attack on his manager and team-mates. Hleb, whose expected move to Barcelona has failed to materialise, was yesterday claimed to have criticised midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. The Belarus international moved [...]
Auntie’s problems run deeper than executive bonuses July 11, 2008 The case of “trebles all round” for top BBC executives, after a year in which viewers were deceived and trust damaged, rightly dominated news about the Corporation’s annual report this week. But an eyebrow should be raised at the scale of the bonuses. The overall pay of director of vision Jana Bennett rose by 24 [...]
Profits crash at Southern Cross nursing July 1, 2008 Southern Cross Healthcare Group, the nursing home operator, shocked the City yesterday with a profits warning along with the departure of its finance director. Southern Cross, whose shares closed down 58.5 per cent at 130p, said occupancy levels at its homes had not grown by as much as it originally expected and trading was unlikely [...]
BT is right to take a risk on faster broadband network July 16, 2008 BT’s announcement that it will spend £1.5bn upgrading Britain’s broadband network has unnerved investors, especially as it is funding the investment by suspending its shareholder buyback programme. But it’s important to remember that, in the long term, delaying this decision would have been worse for the company. Falling Behind The firm is falling behind its [...]