Crude oil drops on OPEC fears May 25, 2009 THE price of crude oil dropped back to around $61 (£38) a barrel yesterday, ahead of an OPEC meeting this week. Oil has rallied over investor sentiment that the worst of the downturn is over. But fears that OPEC members won’t cut their oil output at their meeting on Thursday meant prices dropped. Brent prices [...]
Travelzest is undeterred by libel lawsuit May 25, 2009 TOUR operator group Travelzest is pressing ahead with its investigation into the alleged theft of company money, despite a defamation lawsuit filed by founder and former chief executive Chris Mottershead. Mottershead launched libel proceedings last week, almost a month after the group announced it had suspended him pending the outcome of an investigation into “a [...]
Ashley wallet suffers due to relegation May 25, 2009 SPORTS Direct owner Mike Ashley’s fortune looks set for another battering after the football club he owns, Newcastle United, was relegated from the Premier League. Ashley’s club stands to lose at least £30m a season from a drop in TV revenue which will wipe millions off the value of the struggling north east outfit, in [...]
Cheap Nano is a no-go in India May 25, 2009 Just 20 per cent of Tata Motors’ orders for the world’s cheapest car are for the bargain basement $2,600 model, it emerged yesterday. Chairman Ratan Tata spent four years designing the budget car with 500 engineers, saying the Indian customer would rather have a cheap car with no air-conditioning. Half of the customers booked the [...]
MPs should show how to use pay to reward talent May 25, 2009 May has been a very embarrassing month. People keep talking about money. Not the anonymous multi-trillion pound bailout/quantitative easing/fiscal stimulus piles of money, but the cringingly personal “my house is bigger than yours” monthly pay-cheque sort of money. One of CNBC TV’s guests last week hit the nail on the head when he said; “the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2009 LLOYDS BANKING GROUPExane BNP Paribas upgrades Lloyds Banking Group to “neutral”, saying the shares have fallen too far in reaction to the threat that the European Commission could force it to exit core businesses. But continues to believes the outlook for 2009-10 is “dire” and warns that the impact of higher liquidity and capital ratios [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK May 25, 2009 TO VIVAT Bacchus London Bridge on Saturday night for a cosy dinner of scallops, two separate African antelope delicacies (springbok and kudu tartar) and plenty of cheese. I hear the dishes were picked out specially by the restaurant team for our four diners, who put up their feet as they were served with a feast [...]
Markets mustn’t ignore geopolitical risk May 25, 2009 FOR most investors, consumers and employees around the world, the only public policy debate that really matters is how to deal with the recession – understandably so, given the devastation it has already wreaked. In Britain, we are also seeking to rescue democracy from corrupt politicians. Yet while there is plenty to worry about at [...]
Brazilian bank launches UK ops May 25, 2009 BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, plans to open a London operation, making it the first foreign bank to do so since the beginning of the credit crunch. BNDES will use its London base to launch its European expansion plans and is expected to sign a lease for premises in the City of London or Mayfair [...]
FIRST CLASS GROUNDED May 25, 2009 AUSTRALIAN airline Qantas will stop selling first class fares on most of its flights, the firm said yesterday, as it struggles to cope in the downturn. Last week, British Airways said it would not fit first class cabins on its new aircraft, as business and consumer demand for premium travel falls.