London pre-open: Firm start on the cards
12th Oct 2009 07:40
London is expected to get the week off to a bright start, with traders predicting the FTSE 100 will open around 22 points higher, but early attention is likely to be dominated by board room turmoil in two second-liners. The long running soap opera revolving around the chairman role at TV broadcaste
Read moreUpdate: Interim CEO to quit ITV
12th Oct 2009 07:03
Embattled broadcaster ITV's hunt for a new chairman has suffered another blow as both of the leading contenders ruled themselves out. In a statement, ITV said that former Reed Elsevier boss Sir Crispin Davis and former BMI boss Sir Michael Bishop have both confirmed to the nominations committee of
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: BAE Systems, Ladbrokes, ITV
8th Oct 2009 06:28
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is considering dropping a part of its corruption case against BAE Systems in order to focus on areas most likely to result in a successful prosecution, says the Telegraph. The SFO is understood to be ready to abandon the case it has been pursuing against the defence c
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Royal Bank of Scotland, Dollar, Microsoft
6th Oct 2009 06:16
The European Commission wants Royal Bank of Scotland to sacrifice up to 10% of its small business customers as the penalty for receiving billions of pounds in state aid. RBS, which is 70% state controlled, would have to give up about 100,000 of its one million small business customers under the pla
Read moreOnline ad spending surpasses TV
30th Sep 2009 14:07
Spending on Internet advertising in the UK has surpassed expenditure on television advertising for the first time, according to a study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Online spending rose by 4.6% year on year to £1.75bn in the first half of 2009, while spe
Read moreTuesday paper round-up: Barclays, Sterling, Arm
29th Sep 2009 06:18
Barclays is in talks to buy the banking division of Standard Life. The move is part of its strategy to snap up businesses while its rivals try to rebuild their balance sheets after the financial crisis. Standard Life is talking to several parties, but Barclays is understood to be the most likely b
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: ITV down as chief exec hunt continues
28th Sep 2009 12:22
Shares in ITV fall back amid the broadcaster's continuing failure to hire a new chief executive. Miner Aquarius Platinum and oil group Dana Petroleum fall victim to the continuing pull-back in commodity prices. Mitchells and Butlers recovers some of the value the pub group behind the O' Neill's
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, ITV, Legal & General
27th Sep 2009 19:14
Kraft Foods is poised to launch a hostile bid for Cadbury valuing the British confectionery business at around £11bn, says the Observer. Cadbury is proposing to shrink the size of its chocolate bars to disguise price rises it will be forced to make next year because of high cocoa costs. The move wi
Read moreITV kicks Ball into touch
25th Sep 2009 14:04
ITV has ended negotiations with Tony Ball over the job of chief executive of the struggling broadcaster after failing to reach agreement on governance issues and pay. ITV had reportedly been balking at Ball's demand of a five-year pay package worth more than £25m and reportedly as much as £42m with
Read moreITV starts legal proceedings against STV
23rd Sep 2009 14:53
STV has received a formal notice of legal proceedings from ITV, which said yesterday it would take action against the Scottish broadcaster. ITV is trying to recover gross debt of £38m it says was accumulated as a result of 'STV not honouring its contractual contributions towards the Network Program
Read moreLondon close: Shares end up but down from highs
22nd Sep 2009 16:39
London's leading shares finished with slight gains but were well below earlier highs as miners eased back slightly. Eurasian Natural Resources, Lonmin, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources still posted healthy gains, while precious metals miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were also on the climb. R
Read moreSTV hits back at ITV
22nd Sep 2009 16:09
Broadcaster STV said it was disappointed after ITV revealed it will issue legal proceedings against the Scottish firm to recover gross debt of £38m. ITV said the debt was accumulated as a result of "STV not honouring its contractual contributions towards the Network Programme Budget." STV said th
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares off the top
22nd Sep 2009 14:07
Shares drifted lower over the lunchtime session but are still up on the day, helped in no small part by the strength of miners, which are rising in line with firmer metals prices. Rio Tinto is wanted after it sold off another chunk of Alcan. The heavily indebted miner sold Alcan Composites, part of
Read moreLondon midday: Rio's assets sale continues
22nd Sep 2009 12:10
Miners continue to lead the market higher as investors return to the market after yesterday's pause for breath. Rio Tinto is wanted after it sold off another chunk of Alcan. The heavily indebted miner sold Alcan Composites, part of the Alcan Engineered Products division, to Swiss firm Schweiter Tec
Read moreITV may be allowed to stop regional news
22nd Sep 2009 07:31
Struggling broadcaster ITV could be released from its public service requirement to provide regional news after Ofcom estimated the service would be heavily loss making once digital TV is switched on. The TV regulator instead proposes that an independent news consortia, funded by competitive tende
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