Court rules BT pensioners have government guarantee
21st Oct 2010 13:38
The UK government has to guarantee all BT employees in the BT pension scheme not just the ones that joined prior to privatisation in 1984, according to a court ruling. The government argued that the Crown Guarantee only covered members of the pension scheme before BT was privatised and not subsequ
Read moreRegulator refuses to investigate Project Canvas
19th Oct 2010 07:50
Broadcast regulator Ofcom has rejected calls for an investigation into the BBC, ITV and BT's new online on-demand service YouView saying it would be premature at this stage. YouView, currently called Project Canvas, is a partnership between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva and
Read moreBusiness leaders support Osborne's big cuts
18th Oct 2010 08:31
Thirty five of the UK's leading businessmen have urged chancellor George Osborne not to backtrack on his pledges to cut public spending or the country will face higher taxes and interest rate rises. In a letter to the Telegraph, the businessmen said it would be a "mistake" to water down his proposa
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Old Mutual slides on abortive disposal
15th Oct 2010 14:30
Old Mutual has been hit by the news that HSBC is not going ahead with the purchase of a controlling stake in South African bank Nedbank from the insurer. Old Mutual, RSA Insurance and Standard Life have all been hit by downgrades from Citigroup. In contrast, banks are recovering after yesterday's
Read moreLondon afternoon: BT boosted by government deal
15th Oct 2010 14:23
Leading shares are mixed with traders reluctant to take on big positions ahead of this afternoon's speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The market is hoping that Bernanke will provide clues to the Fed's plans for a possible resumption of quantitative easing. Insurers and miners remai
Read moreTechMARK movers: Trading news pushes Computacenter higher
15th Oct 2010 14:15
Positive trading news boosted IT services provider Computacenter. Revenue grew to £621m in the third quarter, up 13% on the year before or 16% on a constant currency basis. Growth rates improved in both products and services. The fourth quarter of 2009 was a particularly strong one for the group
Read moreBT in efficiency deal with government
15th Oct 2010 12:54
BT jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after the telecoms giant announced it will continue to be one of the government's main suppliers of network IT services following talks with the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude. It signed a memorandum of understanding with the government after discussions
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks tread water
11th Oct 2010 14:34
The blue-chip index trod water over the lunchtime session with the majority of leading stocks consolidating the morning's gains. Oil services group Petrofac is firmer on the back of a lucrative contract win. The government of Sharjah has appointed the company to take over operational responsibilit
Read moreSector movers: Oil service updates impress
11th Oct 2010 13:35
Well-received updates from two big oil services companies have the sector gushing higher. Wood Group is still trading in line with forecasts and the provider of support services to the oil and gas industry expects to match full-year estimates, it said today. Sector peer Petrofac was also higher af
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Ireland, Unilever
30th Sep 2010 06:29
Downing Street appeared to be snubbing the banking industry yesterday as it finalised a 16-strong panel of corporate grandees to advise the Prime Minister on business matters. While manufacturing, construction, utilities, retailing and small businesses are well represented, no one from the banking
Read moreBroker tips: Kingfisher, TalkTalk, Cello
17th Sep 2010 13:17
While the market gave an enthusiastic reception to Thursday's update from Kingfisher, Nomura Securities suggests the DIY retailer's recovery story is only halfway through, and we don't know the ending yet. "The UK and France were in line with consensus expectations, but highlighted ongoing progress
Read moreBroker snap: YouView an opportunity for TalkTalk
17th Sep 2010 13:00
The recently renamed YouView, previously known as Project Canvas, offers an opportunity for internet service provider TalkTalk to crank up its average revenue per user, Daniel Stewart believes. The Project Canvas consortium, comprising Arqiva, the BBC, BT, Channel 4, Five, ITV and TalkTalk has conf
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie drifts lower
16th Sep 2010 14:13
Footsie fell a bit deeper into the red over the lunch time session as a half-hearted rally following disappointing retail sales figures fizzled out. Kingfisher is a high-flyer after interim profits from the DIY retailer were at the top end of the range of expectations as the group achieved strong g
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Investec remains cautious
16th Sep 2010 13:36
Fallers dominate the Footsie today. Investment bank and fund manager Investec expects half year operating profit to be marginally higher than the year before as growth in its fund management business outweighed weaker demand for loans. Loan write-downs remain relatively high. Investec says that th
Read moreTechMARK movers: BT downgrade
16th Sep 2010 13:19
Technology shares are some of the worst performers in the market today and TechMark has fallen more than some of the broader indices. Morgan Stanley has downgraded BT from overweight to equalweight. A new five-year IT services contract with Debenhams was not enough to stop the share price retreati
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