Songbird Estates, the firm that owns much of London's Canary Wharf business estate, said financial market stress had cut the value of its portfolio but it had little to fear from the collapse of tenant Lehman Brothers. In figures for the half-year to June 30, Songbird said the market value of its entire property portfolio
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The UK's leading share index edged lower in early trade on Thursday as losses in the troubled banking sector offset gains in defensive pharmaceuticals companies. By 0802 GMT the FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent or 7.9 points at 5,088.9 points after losing 0.8 percent on Wednesday. The index has fallen 9.5 percent so far
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Nice try with the new phone, Google. Better luck next time. That's what some seem to be saying about Google Inc's first foray into the world of cell phones. But while it may not attract long lines like Apple Inc's iPhone, it offers much to those looking to use their phones for more than talking.
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Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard Co to sell powerful, specialized computers that companies use to analyze data on their business activities. The move, which Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison announced on Wednesday, will expand Oracle's footprint in the hardware business and put pressure on smaller players Teradata
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News Corp's MySpace, the world's largest social networking site, on Wednesday unveiled a long-expected joint venture with all four major music companies in a bid to compete with Apple Inc's market-leading iTunes store. MySpace Music is designed to win fans with a mix of unlimited free music, comprehensive music catalogs, concert tickets, merchandising and other
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Jorma Ollila, the chairman of Nokia and Shell, said on Wednesday the financial market crisis was near its peak, but there was no clear solution to the situation. "We have approached the peak, if we are not there yet … but there really is no clear way out from this complicated situation and that is
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CYPRUS GOURMET With its 354 pages, weighing 850 grams, the October issue of the UK’s “Decanter” magazine (cover modestly saying “The world’s Best Wine Magazine”) strained the resource of my letter box. The bulkiness is because it is the Awards issue of Decanter’s enormous annual international tasting. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in it
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Where are the ‘Wise Men’? Perhaps Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis is on a roll, proud of the fact that Cyprus seems to have been spared from the financial meltdown that the U.S. and dependent markets are facing, but the cautions and worries expressed by economic hawks about the viability of the colossal bailout promised by
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ANALYSIS By Linda Sieg, Reuters New Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is keen to make his mark by crafting a bigger global security role for Tokyo, but a looming election, a faltering economy and political deadlock are dampening chances of success. That will frustrate close ally Washington, which wants Tokyo to do its bit to
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ANALYSIS By Jon Herskovitz, Reuters North Korea is threatening to restore its plutonium-producing nuclear plant because it feels it can win more through brinkmanship than the aid it stands to lose, analysts said on Thursday. Each step the North makes to restore its Yongbyon nuclear plant squeezes regional powers to find a way to bring
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