ONWARDS MEANS UPWARDS FOR MACE August 2, 2010 MACE, the private construction company building the Shard skyscraper (pictured above), posted a 30 per cent rise in profit to £19.3m yesterday. The builder of the London Eye and British Museum courtyard said the growth stemmed from expansion into UK infrastructure and projects in Vietnam, Africa and the Middle East. Turnover increased 18 per cent [...]
Xchanging set to cut costs as deal delay hits August 2, 2010 SHARES in outsourcing group Xchanging took a battering yesterday after it announced lower-than-expected revenues for the year due to delays in big contracts. The FTSE 250-listed firm’s shares fell 16.5 per cent after it said that procurement had been hit by continued client uncertainty, eventually closing down 12.5 per cent at 175p as the worst [...]
Unions plan national walkout August 2, 2010 BRITAIN is facing another winter of discontent, after unions were urged to coordinate strike action and plan a series of national walkouts. The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has called on public sector workers to down tools at the same time, in protest against swingeing cuts planned by the coalition government. The union, run [...]
TNT sees hurdles in sale of mail to private concern August 2, 2010 EUROPEAN parcel and letter delivery group TNT’s chief executive yesterday said he saw challenges to a private sale of its postal unit after the company said it would split its mail and express units by next year. Peter Bakker said that while it was open to all offers, private equity and trade buyers could find [...]
BA and cabin crew union begin fresh negotiations August 2, 2010 SENIOR members from trade union Unite and British Airways (BA) met yesterday to reignite negotiations to head off another potential set of strikes by the airline’s cabin crew. BA chief executive Willie Walsh met with Unite’s joint general secretaries Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson for a short period yesterday at conciliation service Acas with plans [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF MORE STRIKES? August 2, 2010 GORDON CHARLTON | WHITE & CASE “It doesn’t concern me. I understand that the TUC is planning a big protest but I don’t think it will cause any problems. The unions currently lack public support.” TINA HOLDSWORTH | CATALYST 1066 “It is a frightening time at the moment. With all the cuts, it could be [...]
MCG sees its profits edge up August 2, 2010 Support services company Management Consulting Group (MCG) has seen its profits rise in the six months to 30 June, posting a one per cent increase from £10.4m last year, to £10.5m. The firm also said that it was confident its business would recover, despite a 15 per cent fall in revenue from £155.1m in 2009 [...]
Foxconn staff back to work August 2, 2010 Phone maker Foxconn International has resumed operations at a mobile phone parts manufacturing facility in India, it said yesterday, sending its shares up more than five per cent. Work has resumed at the factory since Saturday. By comparison, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.3 per cent. “All our workers who had any health [...]
YouGov encouraged by results August 2, 2010 Polling company YouGov’s results for the year ending 31 July are in line with the board’s expectations, with operating profit “significantly ahead” of 2009, it said yesterday. Last year saw major re-structuring work in the Scandinavian business which led to profitability in the second half of the year, along with encouraging performances in the UK [...]
WHEAT PRICES SURGE August 2, 2010 WHEAT prices hit a two-year high yesterday of $7.11 (£4.47) a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade as worsening weather continues to ravage Russia’s grain crops and heavy rains in Pakistan are estimated to have destroyed 15 per cent of that country’s crop. Wheat prices soared 42 per cent in July, the biggest monthly [...]