Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press has formally requested that the acquisition of eight titles from rival publishing group, Trinity Mirror, be investigated by the Competition Commission (CC). The move follows competition minister Melanie Johnson’s decision not to allow the deal to go ahead without a CC investigation (see Johnston Considers Requesting Regulator Approval For Trinity… Continue reading Johnston Press Refers Free Trinity Papers Acquisition To Competition Commission

In a statement this morning WPP announced that it had extended the deadline on its Tempus offer until midnight on 29 October whilst discussions with the Takeover Panel continue. WPP has sought to invoke the ‘material adverse change’ clause in its initial offer following the terrorist attacks on the US which, it claims, seriously damaged… Continue reading WPP Extends Tempus Offer Pending Takeover Panel Decision

Shares in ITV companies began to fall this morning as analysts at Merrill Lynch cut their forecasts for the Network’s advertising revenues. Reports quote the broker as pulling back 2001 growth from -14.5% to -15.5%; 2002 figures are understood to have been revised from -2.0% to -2.5%. Poor advance bookings for December are thought to… Continue reading ITV Stock Hit By Merrill Lynch Downgrades

Worldwide business to business (B2B) e-commerce is to grow by 83% this year to a value of $516 billion, according to a report released on 10 October by IDC. The longer term growth forecast shows the value of B2B e-commerce rising from $282 billion in 2000 to $4.3 trillion by 2005 – a compound annual… Continue reading Worldwide B2B E-Commerce To Hit $4.3 Trillion By 2005

Wireless internet access is on the rise, according to research company IDC. A report released last week – US Wireless Internet Subscriber Forecast and Analysis, 2000-2005 – predicts that the number of wireless Net subscribers will reach 84 million by 2005, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 73% from the 5 million users… Continue reading US Wireless Internet Users To Number 84 Million By 2005

According to the latest eCommercePulse survey from Nielsen//NetRatings, online buying will rise by over 40% this Christmas reaching $9.9 billion compared to $6.9 billion last year. The report forecasts that in excess of 106 million people will shop online in December 2001, 27% more than the 85 million who bought online in 2000. “The number… Continue reading Online Spending This Christmas Will Net $10 Billion

In its Technologically Advanced Family Survey, completed recently, the Yankee Group discovered that one of the key benefits of broadband as cited by respondents was the ability to keep the household phone free whilst family members surfed the net. Reasons For Subscribing To Broadband At Home    Primary reason Secondary reason Frees up household phone… Continue reading Broadband Means More Than Just Speed, Says Yankee Group

Bluetooth and W-LAN, two ‘competing’ technologies for the wireless interconnection of PCs, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), will both succeed in Europe, according to report released this week by Forrester Research. The report – Bluetooth And W-LAN Will Coexist – claims that the two technologies will not compete with one another, but will… Continue reading Bluetooth And W-LAN Wireless Systems Will Coexist In Europe

The number of DSL (digital subscriber line) customers worldwide reached 10 million at the end of June 2001, according to a new report released last week by Point Topic. This represents growth of 354% over the last twelve months. DSL is a system of delivering high-bandwidth (broadband) data to homes and businesses via an ordinary… Continue reading Worldwide DSL Users Breaks 10m Mark

Access to the internet via a set-top box, whilst still relatively unusual at present, is set to grow from 6.9 million units to over 74 million in the US by 2005, according to research from Cahners In-Stat Group published in September. The research firm projects that, as broadband penetration rates and consumer requests for iTV… Continue reading US Set-Top Box Net Access To Grow 61% To 2005