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☆ British regulator says $19.5 billion Vodafone-Three merger could go ahead if remedies are adopted
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON British telecom firms Vodafone and Three's multibillion-pound merger could go ahead if the companies adopt a series of proposed remedies to clear competition concerns, regulators said Tuesday. Vodafone has previously said that the combined entity, once merged, would invest £11 billion ($14.46 billion) into U.K. telecommunications infrastructure. Vodafone has also said it disagrees with earlier findings from the CMA that the merger would lead to price increases for consumers. It says the merger wouldn't pricing strategy and would enhance competition between mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. "Approval would mark one of the most significant developments in the history of UK mobile, heralding the arrival of a new market leader with over 29 million customers," Manning said in emailed comments.

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Three's, Stuart McIntosh, McIntosh, CK Hutchison, Kester Manning, Manning Organizations: Vodafone, LONDON, Markets Authority, Ofcom, CMA, CNBC, 5G, Sky Mobile, Mobile, CK, CK Hutchison, EE, BT, O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, CCS Insight Locations: London, British, Hong Kong

☆ I got hired at Google without even a high school diploma. Here are my 3 tips for others with nontraditional backgrounds.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with James Thompson, a 40-year-old strategic partner development manager at Google from London. In 2023, after over two decades of working in the tech and telecommunications industry, I landed a job at Google as a strategic partner manager. I never thought I'd be even considered for a role there because my tech career didn't begin with a traditional background. I dropped out of high school and polytechnicI dropped out of high school at age 17. AdvertisementI've been at Google for just over a year now and my experience has been amazing so far.

Persons: —, James Thompson, It's, I'd, didn't, I've, I'm, it's, Jane Zhang Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Vodafone, Cisco, British Telecom, LinkedIn, Big Tech Locations: London, New Zealand

☆ British telco giant BT expects to launch 5G standalone — or 'true' 5G — later this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBARCELONA — British telecommunications giant BT says it expects to launch its first so-called "standalone 5G" network in 2024. Howard Watson, BT's chief technology officer, told CNBC that the telco group plans to switch on its standalone 5G network, which is often referred to in the industry as "true" 5G, later this year. "We've already been ensuring that the SIM cards that our customers have in their current 5G devices can do 5G standalone," Watson added. 5G standalone is different from 5G Advanced, though. 5G standalone refers to the development of a 5G network that isn't being built on top of 4G cores.

Persons: Jason Alden, Howard Watson, Watson, Milind Kulkarni, Kulkarni Organizations: BT Group, Bloomberg, Getty, BT, CNBC, Mobile, Congress, Swedish, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung Locations: Reading, BARCELONA, British, Barcelona, Europe

☆ London's famed BT Tower sold to U.S. hotel group for $347 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — British telecoms group BT said Wednesday it had agreed to sell London's iconic BT Tower — once an important piece of network infrastructure — to developer MCR Hotels for £275 million ($346.6 million). The 189-meter structure has loomed over the capital city's central Fitzrovia neighborhood since 1965, when it opened as the Post Office tower. It was also known for a revolving restaurant on its 34th floor, which took 22 minutes to complete a rotation. MCR Hotels owns 150 properties, including the TWA Hotel located in the former TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR Hotels, said the group would "preserve this beloved building and will work to develop proposals to tell its story as an iconic hotel."

Persons: John F, Tyler Morse Organizations: LONDON, BT, MCR, Post, MCR Hotels, TWA, TWA Flight, John, Kennedy International Locations: Fitzrovia, London

☆ Goldman Sachs updates its 'directors’ cut’ list of top Europe stocks with major upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chip stock addition One notable update to Goldman Sach's directors' cut list was the addition of ASML Holdings – a Netherlands-headquartered chip machine-maker that has Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSMC ) as its biggest customer. Stocks on the list British telecommunications player BT Group made the investment bank's updated directors' cut list – with an upside of around 149% from its Oct. 30 close, based on a 12-month price target of £280 ($340.68). Delivery Hero is another favorite stock, with a price target of 53.90 euros ($57.04), giving it an upside of approximately 128%. German real estate player Vonovia was another company that made the investment bank's list with 75% upside based on a 12-month price target of 36.70 euros. They are thus focused on identifying quality growth and select value stocks for their their conviction list of top buy-rated stocks.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, ASML Holdings Goldman, Stocks, Vonovia, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: ASML Holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Euronext, Nasdaq, BT Group Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Euronext Amsterdam, ASML, bullish, British

☆ Apollo, JB Capital preparing bid for Vodafone's Spanish unit, Expansion says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S.-based buyout fund Apollo Global Management is readying a bid with local fund JB Capital for the Spanish unit of telecom giant Vodafone (VOD.L), the Expansion newspaper reported on Monday citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter. The news about a potential bid comes three weeks after British telecom investment company Zegona (ZEG.L) said it was in talks with Vodafone to buy the Spanish unit. Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle launched a strategic review of the Spanish unit earlier this year. Vodafone is one of the three largest telecom operators in Spain together with Telefonica (TEF.MC) and the local unit of France's Orange (ORAN.PA). Apollo and JB Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Nacho, Margherita Della Valle, Inti Landauro, Jason Neely Organizations: Vodafone, Congress, REUTERS, Rights, Apollo Global Management, JB Capital, Spanish, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Rights MADRID

☆ In AI push, Telenor hires Google Cloud's Amol Phadke as CTO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Telenor recruits Chief Tech Officer from Google CloudAmol Phadke to implement AI strategyTelecom sector's AI adoption is going slowly, Phadke saysAlso appoints Petter-Boerre Furberg as head of Asia unitOSLO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor (TEL.OL) has recruited Google Cloud's Amol Phadke as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to strengthen its AI activities, Telenor said on Tuesday. Phadke most recently headed Google Cloud's (GOOGL.O) telecom business and has previously worked for British Telecom, Alcatel-Lucent and Accenture's network services unit. He said he wanted Telenor "to use AI in all of our operations to make operations more efficient, develop new products, increase energy efficiency." Phadke said Telenor would use AI will to make business operations more efficient, for example to predict traffic demand and allocate more bandwidth to areas with more users, and to improve interactions with customers. "We do not believe that AI will directly result in job reductions," Phadke said, adding he envisaged using AI to augment and enhance, not substitute, humans in processes.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Phadke, Petter, Boerre Furberg, Sigve Brekke, Brekke, Arentz, Rostrup, Furberg, Victoria Klesty, David Evans Organizations: Telenor, REUTERS, Google, Telecom, Technology, British Telecom, Alcatel, Lucent, Reuters, Telenor Nordics, Thomson Locations: Asia, OSLO, Norwegian, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia

Branding is displayed for Vodafone at one of its stores in London, Britain, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoDUBAI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - UAE's e& (EAND.AD) has submitted an offer to increase its stake in Vodafone (VOD.L) by 20%, e&'s CEO Hatem Dowidar told CNBC Arabia on Wednesday. The company formerly known as Etisalat, e& has been gradually building up its stake in the British telecoms company ever since it took a 9.8% stake for $4.4 billion in May 2022. The UAE operator's cooperation with Vodafone is awaiting regulatory approvals in countries where the British company operates, which "include an agreement to regulate relations between the two companies, and also the possibility of increasing our stake to 20%," Dowidar said. Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Writing by Clauda Tanios, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Hatem Dowidar, Dowidar, Jana Choukeir, Clauda Tanios, Louise Heavens Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, CNBC Arabia, Etisalat, SEC, British, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, DUBAI, British, UAE

☆ Factbox: Vodafone, Hutchison UK merger to create country's largest mobile operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) unveiled the merger of their British operations, creating the country's largest mobile operator. Hutchison will own 49% and Vodafone 51% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam. REVENUEUK represented 14% of group service revenue for Vodafone, and 16% of total revenue for Hutchison, according to latest annual results. RETAIL STORESThree has 311 retail stores in UK, according to its website, while Vodafone UK had 410 stores as of January. SPECTRUMVodafone has spectrum access between 3720-3760 MHz, while Three UK has access between 3460-3480 MHz, according to British telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Ahmed Essam, Eva Mathews Organizations: Vodafone, CK, HK, Hutchison, Ofcom, BT Group, O2, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Nearly 4,000 people lost their jobs last month because of AI — the first time that's been cited as a reason, one report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About 3,900 people lost their jobs because of artificial intelligence in May, a new report found. It's the first time AI is listed as a cause in Challenger, Gray, and Christmas's monthly report. It's the latest piece of evidence that AI will disrupt a significant number of jobs. Some 3,900 of the over 80,000 job cuts that took place in May were attributed to AI, the report found. Outside of the pandemic, the start of 2023 has produced the worst layoff numbers since the 820,000 layoffs that took place to start 2009, per the Challenger report.

Persons: Gray, Britney Nguyen, Tessa, Philip Jansen, Amy Organizations: Morning, Challenger, Google, Disorder, BT Locations: Challenger, British

☆ It's becoming clear that AI is going to whack the mediocre middle of office workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

More specifically, AI could disproportionately impact the middle class of white-collar workers — the folks who are mid-career, mid-ability, mid-level, and yes, in some cases, mediocre. In other words, the lessons learned from months or years of experience are baked into an AI tool. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella for example recently told Time that the same could be true for software developers. This doesn't mean the great software developers won't remain great software developers but the ability for more people to enter the field will increase. That's good news for many wannabe software developers, but it's also bad news for many existing software developers.

Persons: —, Erik Brynjolfsson, Lindsey R, Raymond, Danielle Li, Satya Nadella, it's, Aki Ito, Carl Benedikt Frey, Uber, Frey, Mark Muro, Jacob Zinkula, Richard Baldwin, Aaron Mok Organizations: Service, Fortune, Microsoft, Oxford Martin School, London, BT Group, Workers, Brookings Institution, Geneva Graduate Institute Locations: London, British, Switzerland

☆ The AI boom could go one of 2 ways, and the path companies choose could make or break the US workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Businesses are expected to use AI to boost productivity and their profits. The adoption of AI could mean higher wages for workers — or that they lose their jobs altogether. In the years ahead, generative AI including ChatGPT could disrupt — not necessarily replace — 300 million full-time jobs across the globe, according to Goldman Sachs. Over the next decade, that AI productivity boost could increase S&P 500 profits by 30% or more, Ben Snider, a senior strategist at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC last week. "AI will make superstar companies more productive and profitable, but those profits might be achieved at the expense of other companies," he said.

☆ BT is cutting 55,000 jobs. Its CEO says AI could replace 10,000 of those by 2030.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

British telecommunications giant BT said it will cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. British telecommunications giant BT Group said it's planning to cut as many as 55,000 jobs by 2030 — and at least 10,000 of those jobs could be replaced by some form of artificial intelligence. BT Group CEO Philip Jansen said on an earnings call that the company will be a "beneficiary of AI — unequivocally," according to CNN. Jansen estimated that about 10,000 of the jobs BT will eliminate can be replaced by processes of "digitization and automation," like AI replacements. Now there's also a little research indicating how workers, particularly those in customer service, are interacting with such tools.

☆ British telecom giant BT to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — U.K. telecommunications giant BT Group said Thursday it will cut between 40,000 to 55,000 of its workforce between 2028 and 2030. The layoffs, which will include both direct BT employees and third-party workers, will mark a 31-42% reduction in company staffing. New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future," BT Chief Executive Philip Jansen said in a statement. BT's last large-scale workforce reduction saw the company announce in 2018 that it would slash 13,000 posts over a three-year period. BT shares were down 8% by 9:30 a.m. London time.

☆ Vodafone shares drop 4% after record 11,000 jobs cut as CEO says telco 'must change'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vodafone announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs as part of a turnaround plan from the company's newly-appointed CEO Margherita Della Valle. Vodafone shares fell as much as 4% on Tuesday, after the British telecommunications firm announced plans to slash a record number of jobs and forecast a drop in free cash flow. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change," recently appointed CEO Margherita Della Valle said in a candid statement on Tuesday. Vodafone reported 45.7 billion euros ($49.7 billion) in revenues for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, roughly unchanged versus the previous year. "What is going to change is the level of ambition, speed, [and] decisiveness of execution," Della Valle said in a recorded video on Tuesday.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Horizon Therapeutics, Capital One, RH, Home Depot and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Western Alliance Bancorp — Western Alliance shares jumped 3.6% after Bank of America reinstated coverage on the stock with a buy rating. Home Depot , Lowe's — Shares of home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's lost 1.4% and 1% in midday trading Tuesday. On Monday, Daniel Welch, a director at Seagen, disclosed the sale of 1,864 shares, a stake worth more than $370,000. GE HealthCare — The medtech company's shares gained nearly 3% after Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an outperform rating on Monday. GE HealthCare separated from parent company General Electric earlier in 2023 and began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Jan. 4.

☆ These European companies cut jobs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TECH* ERICSSON (ERICb.ST): the telecom equipment maker will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo seen by Reuters said. * NOKIA (NOKIA.HE): the Finnish telecom equipment maker said on May 3 it plans to cut up to 208 jobs in Finland. * PHILIPS (PHG.AS): the Dutch medical equipment maker on Jan. 30 said it would cut 6,000 jobs to counter falling sales and after a massive recall of its respiratory machines. * SAP (SAPG.DE): the German software company said on Jan. 26 it planned to shed 3,000 jobs, 2.5% of its global workforce, to cut costs and focus on its cloud business. * EVONIK (EVKn.DE): the German specialty chemicals producer said on April 3 it would cut 200 jobs as part of restructuring of its pet food unit.

☆ How Vodafone-Three can woo competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone (VOD.L) hopes that three will be its magic number. A merger of Vodafone’s domestic unit with Three UK, the Hong Kong conglomerate’s British business, would shrink the number of mobile operators to three from four. Mobile operators throughout Europe have long lamented antitrust authorities’ preference for keeping at least four players in a market to ensure price competition. Yet Vodafone’s case would be easier to defend if UK operators hadn’t hiked their tariffs in unison by about 11% last spring, a move they seem likely to repeat again this year. That would place the competition watchdog with a tougher choice: slick 5G networks, or four low-priced operators.

☆ Keshub Mahindra, Billionaire Indian Industrialist, Dies at 99
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Daniel E. Slotnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Keshub Mahindra, an Indian industrialist who built a family steel and automotive business into a vast multinational conglomerate, but whose reputation was marred by his conviction for negligence in a poison gas leak that killed thousands of people in Bhopal in 1984, died on April 12. His company, Mahindra Group, confirmed his death in a statement but did not specify where he died. Under Mr. Mahindra’s leadership, the company expanded rapidly from its core businesses of steel trading and building Willys jeeps to become a conglomerate with businesses in more than 20 industries, including cloud and network technology, hospitality, renewable energy, logistics, financial services and real estate. He made international partnerships with companies like Peugeot, British Telecom and Mitsubishi, helping those companies build businesses in India while taking Mahindra global. He did not neglect Mahindra’s core business as he expanded, and in time the company became a leading automobile manufacturer in India, known for SUVs, and a global purveyor of tractors.

☆ UK telecoms firm Virgin Media suffers widespread outages
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - British telecoms firm Virgin Media said on Tuesday there was an issue impacting its broadband services, after thousands of customers reported widespread problems with internet access and the group's website also appeared to be down. There were more than 28,000 reports of Virgin Media outages on the Downdetector website as of Tuesday morning, beginning in the early hours, with most users reporting that their internet was not working. "We're aware of an issue that is affecting broadband services for Virgin Media customers as well as our contact centres," Virgin Media said on Twitter. Virgin Media O2 is owned by Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) and Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC). Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Andy Bruce and Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Goldman Sachs' top stock picks in Europe include three with over 100% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"The macro backdrop remains uncertain … That said, we see scope for alpha opportunities with returns dispersion across sectors," Goldman's analysts, led by John Sawtell, wrote in a Mar. Out-of-consensus buys The bank identified a raft of out-of-consensus stock picks, where each stock is rated "buy" by fewer than 50% of analysts covering them. Goldman gives Deutsche Bank potential upside of 114%. UBS , which recently swooped in with a rescue deal for embattled Credit Suisse, is also on Goldman's screen, with potential upside of 104%. The bank gave British telecommunications firm BT Group potential upside of 101%.

☆ Employees Need Positive Feedback From Bosses. Without It, People Quit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Molly Lipson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A 2021 study by the global management-consulting firm McKinsey found that the top-two reasons people quit their jobs are because they don't feel valued by their company or their manager. And when employees feel happy and rewarded by their jobs, they are also more productive. How to really mean it when you give an employee praiseFor employees to really feel valued at work, it's important that they are recognized on a regular basis. While a simple acknowledgement of good work can be a powerful tool, Baumgartner told me that a simple "thank you" isn't sufficient to truly appreciate employees' work. Peer-to-peer recognition is also an important way employees can feel valued.

☆ UK's Ofcom delays BT fibre pricing decision after CEO remarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rivals such as Virgin Media O2 and alternative fibre providers known as altnets are investing billions of pounds to build competing networks. 'SIGNIFICANT CONCERN'But comments made by BT Chief Executive Philip Jansen to the Financial Times - headlined "BT chief warns Openreach fibre push will 'end in tears' for rivals" - caused "significant concern", Ofcom said. Ofcom chief Melanie Dawes said in a letter to Jansen, published on Friday, that the regulator was committed to network competition. "They must question why BT Group is reducing its wholesale charges whilst increasing the prices that consumers pay for broadband," INCA said. BT's earlier wholesale pricing, Equinox, was challenged by altnet CityFibre, but Ofcom decided not to intervene.

☆ European shares up as travel stocks shine, Thyssenkrupp slides
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.4%, while European travel & leisure stocks (.SXTP) advanced 0.8%. TUI's German-listed shares (TUIGn.DE) rose 2.5%, with its shares listed in London adding 2.5% after the company reported more bookings and higher first-quarter revenue. In Europe, a flash reading of fourth quarter GDP is also on the radar on growing hopes that the euro zone economy most likely avoided a recession. The STOXX 600 has risen over 9% so far this year led by better-than-expected earnings and a brighter outlook for the euro zone economy. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adani’s buy now, pay later fundraise could sting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is on a mission to win public acceptance for his eponymous group. The first stage of a $2.4 billion stock sale by his flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) entity has won over anchor investors, including the well-regarded Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. They are picking up roughly $734 million of stock in India’s largest follow-on issue of new shares by a private sector company. But those of other Adani group companies including Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and some U.S. dollar bonds at Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sold off sharply. For Adani investors, buy now, pay later could take on an awkward new meaning.

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