Osborne hit by £1.2bn shortfall from 4G auction February 21, 2013 THE TREASURY will bank far less than expected from an auction of 4G spectrum, with bidding leaving a black hole of more than £1bn in George Osborne’s accounts. After weeks of secret bidding, the UK’s four mobile operators, along with BT, will spend £2.34bn on airwaves to deliver the next generation of mobile services, far [...]
City Views | Would you sign up for a 4g mobile service? February 21, 2013 IAN BRANAGAN | BRITDAQ We’re an online stock exchange, so anything that will speed up the process will help us. 3G never works on Oxford Street, so if it helps with that, I’d definitely pay more… not lots though. CHRIS GASKIN | BCM I find 3G coverage in the City a bit patchy – it [...]
Watchdog backs Libor fine cuts February 21, 2013 BARCLAYS deserved a multi-million pound reduction in its Libor manipulation fine because it worked hard to cooperate with the investigation, the Financial Service Authority insisted today. Defending itself against questions from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the FSA said it is vital to encourage banks to be open with information. Barclays received a 30 [...]
HMV to close a further 37 stores leaving hundreds out of work February 21, 2013 ADMINISTRATORS running collapsed music and DVD retailer HMV yesterday confirmed they would close another 37 stores across the UK, resulting in a further 464 job cuts. Deloitte’s Nick Edwards said the closures, which come on top of a previously announced wave of 66 closures, were required to “enhance the prospects of the restructured business continuing [...]
Another sort of Dutch auction from wary mobile firms February 21, 2013 THERE were five winners in the £2.3bn UK auction of fourth generation (4G) wireless frequencies announced yesterday, but George Osborne was not one of them. The chancellor was counting on a £3.5bn 4G windfall to provide a figleaf of respectability over his increasingly threadbare claims that he is reducing the UK deficit. The auction came [...]
Countrywide in float plan in bid to raise £200m February 21, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE Holdings, Britain’s largest estate agency, is to return to the market six years after it was taken private, heralding a further sign of recovery in the housing market. The company aims to raise £200m through the issue of new shares, which it said it will use to repay debts and fuel further growth. It [...]
Apple supplier freezes hiring February 21, 2013 APPLE’s major supplier, Chinese company Foxconn, has frozen recruitment at its factories, suggesting a slowdown in demand for the iPhone. The news sent shares in the US company down 2.4 per cent yesterday, despite research showing that both the iPhone 5 and its predecessor, the 4S, had outsold rival Samsung’s Galaxy S3 during the final [...]
NY Times to sell Boston Globe February 21, 2013 THE New York Times is putting The Boston Globe on the auction block for a second time as it seeks to focus solely on growing its flagship newspaper. The company said it had hired Evercore Partners to advise on the sale, which is expected to come at a big loss. Ken Doctor, an analyst with [...]
Plans to force firms to switch auditors don’t go far enough February 21, 2013 BANKS, ratings agencies, now auditors: the firing line of financial sub-industries being dragged kicking and screaming into a post-crisis world continues to lengthen. As soon as tomorrow, the Competition Commission will pave the way for an overhaul of the Big Four accountants with a proposal to enforce mandatory rotation of their major audit clients at [...]
Man Utd CEO steps down February 21, 2013 FORMER JP Morgan banker Ed Woodward will take control of Manchester United this summer, replacing long-serving chief executive David Gill. Woodward helped the Glazer family with their purchase of the club in a £790m leveraged takeover in 2005 before joining the club shortly afterwards. Gill piloted the club through a difficult period which saw regular [...]
