Realising the difficulties faced by high-street music retailers Sir Richard is understood to be preparing to convert his Our Price outlets into technology
Posted in General on 22. Aug, 2010
Realising the difficulties faced by high-street music retailers, Sir Richard is understood to be preparing to convert his Our Price outlets into technology stores which will offer a number of products, notably Virgin mobile phones. Music shops have been hit by the growth of the internet, which enables fans to download their favourite albums. The refurbishment of the shops is expected to begin in the autumn.Virgin declined to comment on the county court judgments.. Private shareholders who traditionally complain of being kept in the dark about information on their investments may soon be able to see the light. Private shareholders who traditionally complain of being kept in the dark about information on their investments may soon be able to see the light.
MediaWave, a privately-owned internet company, is this week writing to every quoted company with a proposal to “webcast” corporate events likely to contain price-sensitive information. Investors would be able to watch anything from analysts’ meetings to AGMs by logging on to the relevant website.Chris Frampton, the founder who still owns 75 per cent of MediaWave, said: “We had the idea simply because we had an issue as shareholders ourselves. Information is supposed to go to everyone, but in practice it’s impossible to do.”If companies do take up MediaWave’s offer, it’ll go some way to answering the complaints of many private investors who feel City institutions and professionals are kept better-informed.
In recent years, some companies have been criticised for letting information seep out gradually rather than informing the whole market at once, creating the sort of false market frowned on by regulators.Reuters, for example, last September held a briefing with analysts in New York that caused its share price instantly to plummet 15 per cent, long before private shareholders had access to the same information. In the same week, by coincidence, BT and Emap separately issued to analysts price-sensitive updates that left investors bewildered by sudden market movements.Some firms have tried to level the playing field by issuing statements out of company hours, but most avoid the risk of creating a false market in their shares by divulging as little as possible.MediaWave was originally targeted at businesses making video presentations to staff It has been profitable since it was formed in 1995 It is expected to come to market in the next two years.. It was 8.45 on Thursday morning, and I was watching the members of the Monetary Policy Committee drinking coffee together. Some looked a little nervous at the unfamiliar sight of my large radio microphone. They were about to walk into the Bank of England’s octagonal committee room to set the UK’s interest rates, and journalists aren’t usually thick on the ground at this sensitive point in proceedings.
It was 8.45 on Thursday morning, and I was watching the members of the Monetary Policy Committee drinking coffee together. Some looked a little nervous at the unfamiliar sight of my large radio microphone. They were about to walk into the Bank of England’s octagonal committee room to set the UK’s interest rates, and journalists aren’t usually thick on the ground at this sensitive point in proceedings.
The Bank, though, had granted the BBC unprecedented access to its operations for the making of a Radio 4 series, and I was there, on 6 February, to record the nuts and bolts of how the decision about interest rates was made and published.There were security precautions. I wasn’t allowed to carry a mobile phone, and was told that I couldn’t leave the building until the decision on rates had been transmitted to the world.The secretary of the Bank, Peter Rodgers, explained that security was tight and that it operated on a “a need-to-know” basis.