Business Analysis & Features
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The Week Ahead: BSkyB boosted by 200,000 new subscribers
Published: 29 January 2007
Broadcaster BSkyB is expected to say on Wednesday that it is well on the way to 10 million subscribers, its target for 2010, with some 200,000 expected to be added for the second quarter results, which includes the Christmas period, taking the total to 8.5 million.
Power cut for clean energy
Published: 28 January 2007
The Week Ahead: BA at loggerheads as the City checks in for half-time results
Published: 28 January 2007
It's going to be a rough week for Willie Walsh. The chief executive of British Airways will be facing a host of questions from investors on Friday when the airline unveils interim results. And chief among these concerns could well be the threatened strike by cabin crew workers that has already caused BA to cancel all flights from Gatwick and Heathrow on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Klaus Schwab: The secret of Schwab's success
Published: 27 January 2007
Market Report: Takeover talk returns to liven up Woolworths
Published: 26 January 2007
Shareholders of the general retailer Woolworths can be forgiven for feeling a bit of takeover fatigue, given the number of times the company has been linked with a bidder only for it to struggle on alone.
The Investment Column: Tighter corporate rules in US help Autonomy progress
Published: 26 January 2007
Market Report: Traders build case for imminent Hanson bid
Published: 25 January 2007
Rumours about a bid for Hanson, the building materials supplier, have done the rounds on and off for the best part of a year, but the story is again gathering momentum as traders bet it is only a matter of time before a predator goes public.
The Investment Column: Johnson Matthey has benefited from climate concerns and is worth buying
Published: 25 January 2007
Giants of £125bn grocery sector under fire
Published: 24 January 2007
Faced with mounting concerns over the relentless rise of the supermarket and fears that local shops were being squeezed out of the marketplace, the Office of Fair Trading was forced to refer the £125bn grocery retail sector to the Competition Commission.
Market Report: A grey day for BSkyB as broker says 'sell'
Published: 24 January 2007
Next week sees second-quarter subscriber figures from the broadcaster BSkyB, and, although the company is expected to report decent growth, the broker Dresdner Kleinwort sees tougher times ahead.
The Investment Column: Logica's share price fall is over-reaction to mixed results
Published: 24 January 2007
Recovery at FT puts Pearson's Scardino in the pink
Published: 23 January 2007
The Investment Column: Hold on tight for the pharmaceuticals roller-coaster
Published: 23 January 2007
Market Report: Resolution rises on talk of bid from US giant
Published: 23 January 2007
Rumours that AIG, the American insurance giant, is mulling a move into the UK insurance market gained momentum with traders betting that Resolution Group, the insurance fund manager, is in the firing line.
The Week Ahead: Northern Rock ready to unveil solid profits
Published: 22 January 2007
The highlight of a relatively quiet reporting week comes on Wednesday as Northern Rock, the UK's fifth largest mortgage lender, reports full-year numbers.
Small Talk: Stockwell offers small investors a slice of the private equity pie
Published: 22 January 2007
Investing in private equity has traditionally been only for the rich as the minimum an investor has to commit tends to be a few million pounds. Well, this is about to change. Stockwell Capital Investments is a private equity company which plans to come to London's junior market next month offering small investors a chance to gain exposure to what is a highly lucrative part of the investment world.
Inflation: The secret cost of living
Published: 21 January 2007
Recycling waste: Oh what a lovely tip
Published: 21 January 2007
The Week Ahead: Into the mind of the Bank... and it's raining on Monsoon
Published: 21 January 2007
Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, is likely - once again - to dominate the business pages this week. In the wake of the revelation that UK inflation had reached 3 per cent, a full point above the Bank's target of 2 per cent, Mr King's speech on Tuesday at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce will be eagerly awaited.
Graham Love: Making a mint from defence research
Published: 20 January 2007
Market Report: Akzo Nobel heads the quest to take over ICI
Published: 20 January 2007
Since ICI sold its Quest flavours and fragrances business in November, the group has constantly been talked of as a takeover candidate, with Akzo Nobel seen as the most likely buyer. Yesterday, the stockbroker ING put out a piece of research arguing that such an outcome is indeed very much likely, although it warned that it is difficult to say when exactly it might happen.
How music majors plan to breathe life back into the CD after its digital death
Published: 19 January 2007
Alain Levy, the former head of EMI's recorded music business, caused a stir last year when he told an audience at the London Business School: "The CD as it is right now is dead."
Market Report: Market sweetens to Tate & Lyle bid rumours
Published: 19 January 2007
Among the more weird and wonderful stories doing the rounds in the London markets is chat that the sugar producer Tate & Lyle, 3.5p firmer at 720.5p, could be in line for a 1,000p-per-share bid from a private equity group.
The Investment Column: No hedging - RAB's results are stunning
Published: 19 January 2007
Market Report: Centrica shares fired by bullish Merrill Lynch
Published: 18 January 2007
It is almost a year since ill-advised comments from the Russian gas giant Gazprom inadvertently sent shares in Centrica into a takeover frenzy. Since then, the shares have quietly rallied back past their Gazprom peak and closed yesterday half a penny off a new all-time high, 6.5p better at 361.75p.
