Nokia appoints new chief executive September 10, 2010 Nokia has appointed Microsoft business manager Stephen Elop as its new chief executive. Elop will replace the outgoing Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who has been chief executive since 2006. Nokia reported a 40 per cent slump in second quarter profit as it struggles in the smartphone market. Elop will take up his new position at Nokia on [...]
BAA passenger numbers fall September 10, 2010 Passenger traffic at BAA airports fell 0.6 per cent in August year-on-year, hit by the continued weakness of the leisure market, which has led to casualties among small British tour operators. BAA, which is majority owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, said 10.6m passengers flew from its UK airports last month, down from 10.7m in the same [...]
Wetherspoon sees record profit after breakfast boost September 10, 2010 Pub chain Wetherspoon has reported record results with sales increasing by £41.2m to £996.3m for year to the end of July. Profit before tax and exceptional items increasing by 7.3 per cent to £71m, compared with the same period last year. The company said it was selling more 400,000 breakfasts and 600,000 coffees each week [...]
Deutsche poised to raise capital September 9, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bank (DB) is set to announce the City’s biggest rights issue of the year next week, coinciding with talks to finalise the Basel III banking capital rules. The German giant has made plans for a share offering worth up to €9bn (£7.4bn), people close to the situation said yesterday, in what would be its [...]
Osborne to slash £4bn off benefits September 9, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne said he will clamp down on the “completely out of control” welfare state yesterday, and promised to gut £4bn from the annual benefits budget. He said the choice to sit at home “with the blinds pulled down” is coming to an end, in an interview with the BBC. “The money won’t be [...]
Burger King chief named September 9, 2010 3G CAPITAL said yesterday it plans to name Bernardo Hees chief executive of Burger King Holdings when it closes its $3.26bn (£2.11bn) purchase of the world’s second-largest hamburger chain later this year. Hees, who joined the US private equity firm as a partner in July, was most recently boss of America Latina Logistica, Latin America’s [...]
Austerity means cheaper mortgages September 9, 2010 SO the Bank of England, entirely unsurprisingly, kept its base rate unchanged yesterday, as advocated by almost all economists. I, together with a tiny number of dissidents, thought rates should go up, to send a signal to the markets that extreme measures were no longer required and that it was time to start readjusting to [...]
Race row banker resigns September 9, 2010 A CENTRAL bank board member who outraged Germany with his remarks on Muslim immigrants and Jews dramatically resigned yesterday after facing pressure from political leaders including chancellor Angela Merkel. Thilo Sarrazin, aged 65, accused Turks and Arabs of exploiting the welfare state, refusing to integrate and lowering the average intelligence. The Bundesbank said yesterday he [...]
AIA strikes deal with ICBC September 9, 2010 AIA has signed a distribution deal with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, as AIG’s Asian arm bids to seal its position as the leading foreign life assurer in the communist state. The bancassurance?deal could be announced as early as today. The move comes as AIA presses ahead with plans for a $20bn (£13bn) initial [...]
EU to wield finance powers September 9, 2010 Europe’s single market commissioner Michel Barnier warned banks and hedge funds that Brussels will use its new financial powers to police risky speculation in the City and across the Eurozone. “The EU authorities are going to look at every product. They can restrict leverage, or in exceptional circumstances even ban a product temporarily,” he told [...]