Day of reckoning looms for the bosses of BT’s stricken Italian arm
The trial into accounting irregularities at BT Italia is opening at last and could cast a shadow over the telecoms giant for years to come
Credit: Illustration by Alex Mellon for The Telegraph
Mike Rake was welcomed back to London with a bump. Chairman of BT at the time, he was returning from the snow-covered hills of Davos, the Swiss ski resort that doubles up as home to the World Economic Forum.
But no sooner had the plane door opened than the phone started ringing: it was the worst possible news. After months of investigation by forensics accountants, the scale of the problems facing BT’s Italian business were becoming clear.
Hipgnosis founder hits back at naive criticisms
Merck Mercuriadis accuses analysts at broker Stifel of trying to put a spotlight on themselves by raising questions about FTSE 250 company
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis with Nile Rodgers of Chic - a member of the company s advisory board
The boss of Hipgnosis has branded a leading broker naive and obtuse after challenging how the music investment fund valued its song books.
Merck Mercuriadis said analysts at Stifel were trying to get a spotlight put on themselves by downgrading the FTSE 250 company amid concerns over its buying spree.
The American broker has shifted the deal-hungry fund from positive to neutral after questioning why its song books secured bumps in valuation shortly after being bought.
Japanese commuters may benefit from Barcelona FC sponsor Rakuten’s tech
Credit: DuKai photographer/Moment RF/Getty
Hiroshi Mikitani wanted to rattle his rivals. After overseeing an incursion into Japan’s mobile market, the chief executive of Rakuten Mobile dialled up the pressure.
Prowling the stage at a Rakuten launch event in September, he announced customers on cut-price 4G plans would get an upgrade to 5G connectivity “at no extra cost”.
“Reducing cell phone fees has become a major topic in Japan – maybe even a national movement,” he added.
Mikitani’s promise is part of an attempt to break Japan’s mobile oligopoly of SoftBank, NTT Docomo and KDDI, which has become so powerful that prime minister Yoshihide Suga has rebuked the companies over their high prices.