News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

Alcoa posts a surprise profit

October 8, 2009

ALCOA shares rose by around four per cent yesterday after the aluminium producer reported its first profit in a year in what Wall Street viewed as a bellwether of how industrial companies are recovering. Five investment banks – Citigroup, Desjardins, UBS, RBC and S&P Research – raised Alcoa’s target stock price, a day after the [...]
Competition Commission rules against Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger

October 8, 2009

THE Competition Commission yesterday ruled against the planned merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation, saying it could lead to higher prices and less competition. The ticketing group and the world’s largest concert promoter announced their merger plan earlier this year, but it has raised antitrust concerns on both sides of the Atlantic and is [...]
JP Morgan hired as Sony sells stake in rival Shine

October 8, 2009

TV PRODUCTION firm Shine has appointed JP Morgan to sell Sony’s 21 per cent stake in its business, since Shine’s global ambitions have put the firms increasingly in competition. Shine, which is chaired by its founder Elisabeth Murdoch, has grown significantly from the mid-sized UK-focused operation that Sony invested in four years ago. “While Shine [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS

October 8, 2009

YELLMorgan Stanley lowered its price target for Yell, which it rates “overweight”, from 115p to 90p, to reflect weaker revenue trends and the dilutive impact of a £500m equity issue. It said that refinancing is the key event for the shares, and that the next catalyst will be the deadline for lenders to accept the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS

October 8, 2009

Religare Capital MarketsThe broking and investment banking group has appointed Martin Newson as its new chief executive of global investment banking. Newson will be tasked with bringing together the firm’s Indian capital markets franchise with its international investment banking operation. He was previously head of global equities at Dresdner Kleinwort, where he also led the [...]
Managers can take steps to prevent stress in the office

October 7, 2009

IT’S hardly a stretch to work out that economic gloom will exacerbate workplace stress. And that means more than just a few tough deadlines – it can cause serious mental health issues. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health says that such problems cost UK organisations about £26bn each year. The latest Health and Safety Executive [...]
JOOLS SET TO PLAY AT DUNSTONE’S WEDDING

October 7, 2009

GOOD news for fans of City gossip: we can reveal more juicy details about what is fast shaping up to be the hottest social occasion of the year, Carphone Warehouse tycoon Charles Dunstone’s wedding to PR executive Celia Gordon Shute on Saturday. Heading down to the Inner Temple Garden on Embankment yesterday for a bit [...]
Jaguar gets 500m new bank funding

October 7, 2009

BELEAGUERED carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) yesterday revealed it has secured £500m of new funding, easing the pressure on the company after a dramatic slump in car sales during the recession. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, said the monies included a £175m loan from the State Bank of India and a new [...]
Credit card fraud down 23pc

October 7, 2009

CREDIT Card fraud losses fell by 23 per cent to £232.8m in the first half of 2009, compared with the same period last year. Although the latest statistics show that card fraud is dropping, online banking fraud did rise over the period by 55 per cent to £39m. Cheque fraud losses were down 26 per [...]
Amazon announces roll-out of popular Kindle e-reader to 100 new countries

October 7, 2009

ONLINE retail giant Amazon announced yesterday that it is introducing the Kindle, its wireless eBook reader, in more than 100 countries – including the UK. The move gives the world’s largest online retailer the widest global reach among its competitors, including chief rival Sony. But it was not clear yesterday which UK mobile network providers [...]