TELECOM

Shares in Vodafone were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the telecoms giant said that its Chairman, Sir John Bond, will be stepping down in July.

Shares in BskyB were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading after the European Commission approved News Corporation's proposed takeover of BskyB.

Algeria kickstarted on Wednesday the process to select an adviser for the potential nationalisation of Djezzy, Orascom Telecom's biggest revenue earner.

Shares in BT Group were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the company raised its forecast for the full year 2010/11 after a strong rise in profit in the second quarter ended 30 September.

Shares in Vodafone were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the telecom giant's half year results due out tomorrow.

Shares in Carphone Warehouse were up after the group more than trebled its post-tax profit in the half year period ended 30 September.

Shares in BSkyB were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the broadcaster reported double-digit rises in revenue and profit in the first quarter ended 30 September.

Communications regulator Ofcom has said that it will not be investigating "Project Canvas", despite receiving complaints from Virgin Media and IPVision.

Mobile phone company Sony Ericsson has reported a return to profit in the third quarter of 2010, despite a slight drop in sales.

BT has said it will be launching a new £132 million project aimed at bringing broadband to the "vast majority of businesses" in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by 2014.

Talk Talk have announced £444 million up 31 pct on last year for the first quarter to June after integrating Tiscali's 1.3-1.4 million customers.

Shares in software company Misys were up on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading after the group reported a rise in adjusted operating profit of 26 per cent to £148 million in the year ended 31 May.

Shares in William Hill were down slightly on the FTSE 250 after the gambling group said its Online division would be setting up a new telephone betting operation in Gibraltar, while closing its British based telephone betting subsidiary, William Hill Credit Limited (WHCL), in order to avoid high taxes.

Channel Five has been bought by Northern & Shell, the company owned and run by Richard Desmond, also known as "Dirty Desmond" for making much of his fortune from pornographic publications.

The government has cancelled a lead firm on the e-borders contract over delays, Immigration Minister Damien Green said.

Shares in water company Severn Trent were up on the FTSE 100 after the group said that trading for the quarter ended 19 July had been in line with expectations throughout the period.

Michael Page International has announced gross profits up 33.1 pct today on increasing confidence in the job market and a clear investment strategy.

Vodafone have beaten analyst expectations today with a £11.9 billion profit using guidance assumptions.

BT Group shares are up 8.90 pence as the telecoms provider get a boost from fundamentals.