Category: Companies

Surprise! Voice Still Matters for Mobile Phones

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on February 15

For all the excitement about mobile data services and the wireless Internet, plain old voice calls still provide the bulk of revenues for carriers all over the globe. According to…

Why Britain Will Survive Kraft’s Takeover of Cadbury

Posted by: Mark Scott on January 21

For many Brits, complaining is a national sport. Take Kraft’s proposed $19.4 billion takeover of British chocolate maker Cadbury. After the confectioner’s board approved an improved bid on Jan. 19…

Do These Vuitton Ads Stretch Too Far?

Posted by: Carol Matlack on December 11

Bling is out, enduring quality is in. That’s the message this holiday season from makers of luxury goods, who are betting that even in a shaky economy, shoppers will still…

The Secret of Zara’s Gains: Asia

Posted by: Kerry Capell on December 10

Inditex, the world’s largest apparel retailer by sales, is bucking the recession, reporting better than expected third quarter earnings on Dec. 10. Net income rose 4.3% to $671 million in…

Hershey, Ferrero Consider Cadbury Bid

Posted by: Kerry Capell on November 18

A bidding war looks set to ensue for British confectionary maker Cadbury (CBY) after U.S. chocolatier Hershey (HSY) and Italian confectioner Ferrero issued separate statements confirming their interest in the…

Coke’s Sponsorship of London Tube Runs into Problems

Posted by: Mark Scott on November 11

Christmas is still more than six weeks away, but Coca-Cola (KO) wants to tap Londoners’ holiday cheer. On Nov. 11, the U.S. drinks giant announced a deal to sponsor performers…

Kraft’s Hostile Bid for Cadbury Rejected

Posted by: Mark Scott on November 09

After months of planning, Kraft finally made its move on Nov. 9 for British candy maker Cadbury. Unfortunately for the Northfield (Ill)-based food giant, Cadbury reply was short and sweet:…

European Commission Forces UK Banking Shakeup

Posted by: Kerry Capell on November 03

British Chancellor Alistair Darling is proving to be a master in spin. On Nov. 3, Darling proclaimed the decision to inject an additional £25.5 billion ($41.6 billion) and £5.7 billion…

Nokia N900 Delay Highlights Maemo’s Importance

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on October 28

When Nokia (NOK) revealed late last week that it was postponing until sometime in November the launch of its much-anticipated N900 “Rover” tablet/handset, eager buyers were disappointed again. The device,…

Investors Cool to Deutsche Bank Profit Report

Posted by: Jack Ewing on October 21

Deutsche Bank (DB), following in the footsteps of Daimler two days earlier, rushed out preliminary profit figures Oct. 21. But the bank’s announcement that net earnings for the period were…

Daimler Surprises With Return to Profit

Posted by: Jack Ewing on October 19

After a series of tough quarters, carmaker Daimler (DAI) has managed to cut costs enough to return to profitability. The Stuttgart-based company’s shares soared Oct. 19 after it reported an…

Nokia Results: Grim, but Some Rays of Hope

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on October 15

There’s not much to cheer about in quarterly results from mobile phone giant Nokia that included an unexpected net loss of $834 million (the first since Nokia started reporting quarterly…

Santander’s Brazilian Business Raises $8 Billion

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 07

Asian companies are are rushing to tap seemingly insatiable investor appetite through a recent blitz of IPOs in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and other regional capitals. Not to be outdone, Spain’s…

Utility Giant EDF’s New Boss Has Big Challenges

Posted by: Carol Matlack on September 28

When Henri Proglio was named chief of French utility group Veolia Environnement in 2000, his first challenge was to dig out from under a $26 billion mountain of debt offloaded…

Kraft’s Pursuit of Cadbury Continues

Posted by: Mark Scott on September 28

Kraft’s pursuit for British chocolatier Cadbury continues unabated. After getting the cold shoulder when it first announced a $16.7 billion takeover proposal, the U.S. food giant may soon up the…

Startup Plans to Usher in Hydrogen Economy

Posted by: Jack Ewing on September 23

Every major automaker is investing in development of ways to make cars move without petroleum or at least less of it. But there are also lots of smaller companies looking…

Frankfurt Auto Show: Lambos, Bugattis and Bentleys from VW

Posted by: Jack Ewing on September 16

Anyone attending Volkswagen Group’s pre-auto-show bash on the evening of Sept. 14 could be forgiven for thinking that the one-time maker of the People’s Car has decided to become a…

France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom Create UK JV

Posted by: Jack Ewing on September 08

In announcing Sept. 8 that they are combining their British mobile operations, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom promise “substantial benefits to consumers.” Maybe, but the benefits to the two operators…

German Clunkers Scheme Was Surprising Success

Posted by: Jack Ewing on September 02

Germany’s cash-for-clunkers program has confounded economists by becoming a success. The idea of offering government cash for people who traded in their jalopies spread around the world and kept German…

Greyhound Comes to Britain

Posted by: Kerry Capell on August 19

The iconic American buses are coming to Britain for the first time in the brand’s 95-year history. Britain’s biggest train and bus company First Group, which acquired Greyhound two years…

UBS U.S. Tax Dispute: Who Are the Winners?

Posted by: Mark Scott on August 06

[Ed. — update from Aug. 10]: The Swiss government held a special meeting on Aug. 10 to discuss ongoing problems in settling the U.S. tax evasion case involving UBS. On…

US & Switzerland Reach Compromise on Tax Evasion

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 31

U.S. prosecutors and Swiss officials have reached an agreement to settle civil charges brought against Switzerland’s UBS. A department of justice attorney, though didn’t provide specifics on the deal, which…

UBS U.S. Client Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 28

U.S. authorities and Swiss financial giant UBS may have a few more days left to settle an ongoing civil case over alleged tax evasion, but the prosecutions keep on coming….

Spain’s BBVA Posts Strong Results, But Pain Could be on the Way

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 28

Results season is in full swing, and on July 28, it was the turn of Spain’s BBVA — Europe’s sixth-largest bank — to face the gauntlet. Compared to most of…

Ryanair Lowers Full-Year Profit Outlook

Posted by: Kerry Capell on July 27

Is Ryanair’s business model recession proof? In the past it certainly looked that way as Europe’s largest budget airline cut fares and increased traffic to recently become Europe’s biggest carrier…

Judge Gives UBS & U.S. Authorities Time to Find Tax Settlement

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 13

In the ongoing game of financial chicken between U.S. authorities and Swiss financial giant UBS, it was a Miami federal judge who blinked first. On July 13, Judge Alan Gold…

Adidas Rescuer Robert Louis-Dreyfus Dies

Posted by: Jack Ewing on July 06

The brief obituaries of Robert Louis-Dreyfus in today’s papers focus on his ownership of French football club Olympique Marseilles, which is understandable enough, but overlook what a formidable impact the…

Rio Tinto Pockets $15 Billion Through Rights Issue

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 02

So that’s it. After an on-again, off-again relationship with rival BHP Billiton, and an unsuccessful link-up with state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chinalco — a major customer — London-listed…

Can Airbus Press Its Advantage Over Boeing

Posted by: Carol Matlack on June 26

Three years ago, Airbus looked like a fumbling laggard. While Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner racked up order after order, its European rival had to go back to the drawing board…

British Airways’ Staff Agree to Work for Free

Posted by: Kerry Capell on June 26

Would you accept a pay cut, or even work for free to save your job? On June 26, British Airways announced that some 17% of its 40,000 strong workforce did….

Telecom and Oil: Ericsson Exec Goes to BP

Posted by: Stanley Reed on June 25

BP and Royal Dutch Shell watch each others’ every move very closely. After all, the two are seen as local champions in London—even though Shell is now mostly based in…

IKEA Turns Sour on Russia

Posted by: Jason Bush on June 24

If ever there was an investor that was bullish on Russia, then that investor was the Swedish furniture giant Ikea. Since opening its first store in Russia in 2000, the…

How Bad Is It at British Airways?

Posted by: Kerry Capell on June 22

Talk about mixed signals. On June 22, the same day British Airways fended off press speculation that it might not survive the recession without going broke, CEO Willie Walsh confirmed…

Is Rio Tinto an ‘Unfaithful Woman?’

Posted by: Mark Scott on June 12

It’s not often a multi-billion dollar company is called an unfaithful woman. Yet those are the words used by a Chinese newspaper to describe Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and…

BA Posts Record Loss

Posted by: Kerry Capell on May 22

British Airways (BA) went from record profit to its biggest-ever loss in the space of just 12 months. On May 22, the British airline reported losses of $639 million for…

What Lies Behind the Rio Tinto-Chinalco Deal

Posted by: Mark Scott on May 13

The future plans for London-based miner Rio Tinto seem to have move twists and turns than a South American soap opera. First, rival BHP Billiton tried — and failed —…

Adidas Profit Way Below Expectations

Posted by: Jack Ewing on May 05

German sportswear maker Adidas provided a reminder that, despite all the talk of economic green shoots, corporate earnings may still take a long time to recover. First-quarter 2009 pretax profit…

European Drug Companies Ramp Up Production to Tackle Swine Flu

Posted by: Kerry Capell on April 28

There’s nothing like a potential pandemic to improve the fortunes of European drugmakers which are on the frontlines of efforts to combat the flu outbreak that has spread from North…

VW Loss Points to Jobless Pain Ahead

Posted by: Jack Ewing on April 22

Back in February I visited Volkswagen’s sprawling factory complex in Wolfsburg expecting to find the 48,000 workers awash in auto industry gloom. Instead it was business as usual. At one…

Sony Ericsson Cuts 2,000 Jobs After First Quarter Loss

Posted by: Kerry Capell on April 17

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs after posting a pre-tax loss of $469 million for the first three months of this year. Blaming weak global…

Woes for Switzerland’s UBS Drag On

Posted by: Mark Scott on April 15

Swiss financial giant UBS must wonder when the pain is going to stop. On Apr. 15, the Zurich-based bank announced a $1.74 billion net loss for the first quarter of…

Philips Posts First-Quarter Loss

Posted by: Kerry Capell on April 14

Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips reported a surprise first quarter loss of $78.9 million compared to a $390 million profit a year ago. Europe’s biggest electronics firm is a casualty…

Sarkozy’s “Bossnapping” Dilemma

Posted by: Carol Matlack on April 08

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to stop to the fast-spreading practice of “bossnapping” – workers taking their bosses hostage. “We are a nation of laws. I won’t allow this…

Controversy Swirls Around Rio Tinto-Chinalco Deal

Posted by: Mark Scott on March 17

When Tom Albanese, chief executive of London-listed miner Rio Tinto, first announced a $19.5 billion strategic partnership with the state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chinalco, in February, 2009, he…

Geneva Auto Show: BMW’s Reithofer Optimistic

Posted by: Jack Ewing on March 03

The way BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer tells it, he first got an inkling a downturn was in the works when he visited a number of U.S. dealers in September 2007….

Geneva Auto Show: No Spinoff for Ford Europe

Posted by: Jack Ewing on March 03

General Motors Corp.’s Adam Opel unit is frantically trying to achieve independence from its parent company so it can get German government aid and survive the economic crisis. But competitor…

UBS Taps Grübel as New Chief Executive

Posted by: Mark Scott on February 26

After more than $50 billion of writedowns and losses, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into tax evasion, and the prospect of losing wealthy clients to rivals, shareholders of Swiss…

RBS Announces Record Loss

Posted by: Mark Scott on February 23

[Ed — Updated on Feb. 26] Of all the records to notch up, this certainly wasn’t one that RBS was gunning for. On Feb. 26, the Edinburgh-based bank announced a…

Those Incredible Disappearing Airplanes

Posted by: Carol Matlack on February 19

It was bound to happen, and it will almost certainly happen again. On Feb. 19, Airbus announced that it will trim production of its best-selling A320 aircraft line later this…

Chinese Invest $19.5 Billion in Rio Tinto

Posted by: Mark Scott on February 12

After ten days of speculation, Rio Tinto — the second largest London-listed mining company by market cap — confirmed on Feb. 12 what many analysts had been expecting for months….

Nokia Layoffs Presage Grim Mobile Congress

Posted by: Jack Ewing on February 11

Nokia may have inadvertently set the mood for this year’s Mobile World Congress, which begins Feb. 16 in Barcelona. The company said Feb. 11 it is closing its research and…

Deutsche Bank Vows to Stay Off Dole

Posted by: Jack Ewing on February 05

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann has stubbornly insisted that Germany’s signature financial institution will not accept government handouts, even as the global financial crisis created an $8 billion pretax…

Russia’s Airlines Feel the Squeeze

Posted by: Jason Bush on January 30

Russian airline S7 has confirmed that it is scrapping a $2.4 billion order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, citing difficulties caused by the financial crisis. It is the first airline…

Xstrata Rights Issue: Will Other Miners Follow Suit?

Posted by: Mark Scott on January 29

If anyone needed a reminder of just how quickly the global economy has turned for the worst, London-listed Xstrata — the world’s fifth-largest mining company by market cap — provided…

Asda, BSkyB Create New Jobs

Posted by: Kerry Capell on January 28

The British economy got a rare bit of good news on Jan. 28 with Asda, the supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart and broadcaster BSkyB promising to create a total of…

Deutsche Bank Profit Warning — the Start of More Problems for EU Banks?

Posted by: Mark Scott on January 14

No one’s suggesting the Jan. 14 profit warning from Germany’s Deutsche Bank — the largest bank in Europe’s biggest economy — had anything to do with an expanded $106 billion…

Another U.S. Disappointment for EADS

Posted by: Carol Matlack on January 13

European Aeronautics Defence & Space, the parent company of Airbus, has suffered another setback in its quest to become a major player in the U.S. defense business. Speaking to a…

Air France-KLM Ties Up With Alitalia

Posted by: Carol Matlack on January 12

Air France-KLM is getting an Italian accent. It will pay $435 million to take a 25% stake in Alitalia, the Italian carrier’s controlling investor announced at a press conference in…

Anglo American Latest Miner to Announce Cutbacks

Posted by: Mark Scott on December 17

Another day, another cutback in the global mining industry. This time, it’s Anglo American (the second largest London-list miner by market capitalization), which on Dec. 17 announced a much-anticipated reduction…

Rio Tinto Cuts Workforce, Expansion Plans

Posted by: Mark Scott on December 10

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has had a busy couple of weeks. On Nov. 25, rival BHP Billiton pulled its all-share takeover bid after the companies’ tumbling stock prices had…

More Twists & Turns in Europe’s Real Estate Market

Posted by: Mark Scott on December 03

Hindsight, as the saying goes, is always 20-20. That’s little consolation for Metrovacesa, Spain’s largest real estate company, which announced on Dec. 3 it was in “advanced talks” to sell…

Porsche Feels the Downturn

Posted by: Jack Ewing on November 26

Though it remains appallingly profitable, even premium sports car maker Porsche faces uncertain times. Revenues in the last four months of 2008 will probably slip to about $2.6 billion from…

BHP Billiton Ends Rio Tinto Takeover Battle

Posted by: Mark Scott on November 25

And so that’s it. After negotiating for over a year and spending $450 million on costs, Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton on Nov. 25 pulled its all-share takeover for rival…

Santander’s Rights Issue: No Need To Panic

Posted by: Mark Scott on November 10

Is Spain’s Banco Santander, the euro zone’s largest bank by market capitalization, in financial trouble? That was the rumor in some sectors on Nov. 10 after the Spanish bank announced…

BMW Turnaround Grows More Distant

Posted by: Jack Ewing on November 04

BMW’s big model launch this year was the redesigned luxury 7 Series, and it’s a great car to drive—but not exactly the best model to lead the German company’s increasingly…

World Economy Hits Daimler Earnings

Posted by: Jack Ewing on October 23

So it’s official. Global financial turmoil has hit the “real” economy in Germany. The country’s largest company, car and truck maker Daimler, reported Oct. 23 that operating profit in the…

Airbus Flies into the Global Credit Storm

Posted by: Carol Matlack on October 15

The downdraft from the global financial crisis has finally hit Airbus. On Oct. 15, the European planemaker confirmed to Bloomberg News that it will delay a planned production ramp-up because…

Spain’s Santander In Talks to Buy Sovereign Bancorp

Posted by: Mark Scott on October 13

As financial institutions worldwide fret about their future, Spanish bank Santander is again on the prowl. Already the Euro zone’s largest bank by market capitalization and led by acquisition-hungry Chairman…

Unilever Taps Ex-Nestle Exec as New CEO

Posted by: Kerry Capell on September 05

Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever announced Paul Polman, a former top executive with Unilever arch rivals, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble will succeed Patrick Cescau as CEO when he retires…

Regulators End British Airport Monopoly

Posted by: Mark Scott on August 20

As predictions go, my colleague Kerry Capell pretty much got it bang on with her article on Aug. 19 about the possible break-up of BAA, the operator of many of…

Siemens Near Accord in Bribery Probe, Paper Says

Posted by: Jack Ewing on August 20

Siemens is close to reaching a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the bribery scandal that has led to a nearly complete turnover in top management, the Frankfurter…

Rising Fuel Costs Hit Ryanair’s Profits

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 28

From publically berating rival airlines to verbally chiding local airport operators, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of low-cost carrier Ryanair (Europe’s largest airline by passenger volume), isn’t known for being understated….

Boeing Talks Tough at Farnborough Airshow

Posted by: Mark Scott on July 15

In the midst of soaring fuel costs and fears over slumping global economic growth, the bigwigs of the airline industry have put on a brave face at the biennial Farnborough…

Europe’s Promising Young Entrepreneurs

Posted by: Andy Reinhardt on July 14

I had the privilege recently of helping pick the most promising young entrepreneurs in Europe. Sponsored by Junior Achievement—Young Enterprise Europe, the contest in Brussels pitted 15 teams from around…

Barclays Share Issue Faces Analyst Scrutiny

Posted by: Mark Scott on June 27

Just two days after Barclays announced an $8.9 billion share issue, the shine is starting to wear off. Analysts at Citigroup on June 27 laid out the case for why…

A Franco-German Civil War at Airbus?

Posted by: Carol Matlack on June 23

Airbus’s parent company EADS, reeling from a setback in its fight for a lucrative U.S. Air Force refueling tanker contract, faces hostilities in its own back yard as well. Tensions…

Ryanair Faces Future Trouble

Posted by: Mark Scott on June 03

You know times are tough in the airline industry when European low-cost powerhouse Ryanair raises the white flag. That’s exactly what the carrier did on June 3 when the carrier…

Airbus’s Legal Nightmare May Just Be Starting

Posted by: Carol Matlack on May 30

Noël Forgeard has had a nightmarish week. On May 30, French authorities formally charged the former Airbus boss with insider trading, after holding him in custody for two days of…

The Deutsche Telekom Plumbers

Posted by: Jack Ewing on May 30

There was a feeling of deja vu as prosecutors raided Deutsche Telekom offices May 29, as they widen their probe into charges that the company compared phone records in 2005…

Time Running Out on Russo’s Golden Parachute

Posted by: Carol Matlack on May 27

Here’s yet another reason to wonder whether Alcatel-Lucent Chief Executive Patricia Russo will stay on the job much longer. When the struggling telecommunications equipment maker holds its annual meeting in…

InBev and Anheuser Might Be a Good Match

Posted by: Jack Ewing on May 26

For years the world’s top brewers such as InBev and Heineken have been acquiring smaller, regional beermakers, particularly in emerging markets. Now it looks like the industry is poised for…

Klaus Kleinfeld’s Comeback

Posted by: Jack Ewing on May 09

This month’s Landing-On-Your-Feet Award goes to Klaus Kleinfeld, former Siemens CEO who on May 8 was named CEO of aluminum products maker Alcoa. Kleinfeld resigned the job at Siemens a…

Why DT’s Obermann Might Make a Play for Sprint

Posted by: Jack Ewing on May 06

There’s been lots of discussion since yesterday about the likelihood that Deutsche Telekom will try to buy Sprint Nextel. A person who used to be closely involved with DT suggests…

Carlos Ghosn, Plugged-In

Posted by: Carol Matlack on May 02

Running a car company isn’t always hard work. Taking a break from a meeting with journalists in a Portuguese resort, Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn hopped behind the wheel of a…

Siemens Managers May Have to Put Their Money Where Their Mistakes Were

Posted by: Jack Ewing on April 18

Siemens may sue former members of top management to recover some of the costs of a continuing corruption scandal, Munich’s daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reports. And why not? The norm at…

Murdoch + Premiere + Sat.1 Could = More Media Diversity in Germany

Posted by: Jack Ewing on April 07

Is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. making another run at Germany? On Apr. 4, News Corp. boosted its stake in pay-TV company Premiere to 22.7%, up from the 14.58% it bought…

A Romanian Strike Against Renault’s Logan

Posted by: Carol Matlack on March 26

Renault is facing a major challenge to its Logan cheap-car business model, as workers at its flagship Romanian factory walked off the job on March 24, demanding higher pay. The…

Pepsi’s Big Play in Russia

Posted by: Jason Bush on March 20

Check out the news that Pepsi is investing a massive $1.4 billion in Russia, to acquire 75.5% of Lebedyansky, the country’s largest fruit juice producer. The deal has been rumored…

Life’s no longer so easy for Easyjet

Posted by: Kerry Capell on March 19

When Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, warned on Feb. 4 that the airline’s profits could be halved next year on the back of soaring oil prices, rival…

Renault’s Turbo-Powered Logan

Posted by: Carol Matlack on February 14

The Logan, a no-frills car selling for under $10,000, has clearly become the engine of growth at Renault. What’s more, it’s starting to yield surprisingly healthy profits for the French automaker. One reason: Customers in emerging markets are loading up their Logans with lots of options.

Samsung’s New Marketing Push

Posted by: Jack Ewing on February 10

Younghee Lee is living proof that Samsung is getting more serious about marketing. “I don’t know much about technology,” Lee says, disarmingly, shortly after she sits down for a brief…

Nokia’s Germany Problem

Posted by: Jack Ewing on February 06

Not that anyone’s offering, but one job I wouldn’t want would be selling Germany to foreign investors. The problem isn’t that Germany is a bad place to invest. On the…

Ryanair Blamed for Fall in British Tourism

Posted by: Kerry Capell on February 01

Cheap air travel is “squeezing the life out of British tourism” according to budget hotel chain Travelodge. At a hearing on tourism at Britain’s House of Commons, members of Parliament…