Virgin Atlantic pilots poised to ground airline over holiday row August 23, 2010 VIRGIN Atlantic management are to meet with union Balpa today in a bid to avert a possible strike of its airline’s pilots as tensions mount over staff holidays and days off. The two are to meet in what Balpa calls “last ditch” talks to negotiate an agreement that could prevent a crippling strike by Virgin [...]
Labour edges ahead in Aussie election August 23, 2010 THE Labour government appeared to take the initiative in the Australian election yesterday, with analysts predicting leader Julia Gillard can scrape enough independent MPs together to form a shaky coalition. In a turnaround to early estimates, the latest count gave Labour 72 seats to the conservative’s 69, with both falling short of the 76 seats [...]
Foster’s rises on the hopes of £7bn bid battle August 23, 2010 A BIDDING war could break out for part of the Foster’s Group brewing empire after Asahi, the Japanese lager maker, reportedly hired two investment banks to advise on an approach. Asahi would be up against London-listed SABMiller in the running for the £7bn beer-brewing arm of the Foster’s business, which produces brands such as Victoria [...]
England 2018 figures miss key meeting August 23, 2010 THE ENGLAND team largely failed to turn up during the World Cup and now the team behind the country’s bid to host the 2018 finals followed suit, with a host of central players failing to show up for a key meeting. An envoy from governing body Fifa, fronted by the president of the Chilean football [...]
Anglo Irish takes hit on state loans August 23, 2010 ANGLO Irish Bank is expected to transfer a second tranche of loans to the country’s state-run National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), or “bad bank”, at a discount of just over 60 per cent. NAMA will buy the €8bn (£6.5bn) of loans at a value of €4.8bn, it is understood, while it is thought that the [...]
Kingspan to reinstate its dividend in bullish move August 23, 2010 IRISH building materials group Kingspan beat earnings forecasts and resumed dividend payments yesterday as firm orders defied fears of a slump back in to recession in the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. “There’s a fierce amount of negativity out there but it’s not evidenced in our order books,” chief executive Gene Murtagh said. “For [...]
Pub footie fans could spoil BT’s sports plans August 23, 2010 NEW research shows that more than a third of 18-34 year-olds who are planning to watch Premier League football on TV this season will not watch the games at home. The research, carried out by YouGov, does not bode well for BT, which has launched a new football package in a desperate bid to compete [...]
Insider trading man at Disney faces prison August 23, 2010 A LOS Angeles man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring between March and May this year with his girlfriend, then a Walt Disney employee, in trying to sell confidential company information to hedge funds. Yonni Sebbag, 30, faces a possible 27 to 33-month prison term following his admission in Manhattan federal court in New York. He [...]
Insurers post stormy first half results August 23, 2010 SIGNIFICANT catastrophes during the first half of the financial year, including the Chilean earthquake and the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, have sent profits on a downward spiral at insurers Hiscox and Amlin. Bermuda-based Hiscox saw first half year pre-tax profits slide to £97.2m from £141.4m after the insurer took a £100m hit from [...]
HP trumps Dell with 3Par bid August 23, 2010 HEWLETT-PACKARD launched a $1.6bn (£1.03bn) bid for data storage company 3PAR yesterday, topping an offer by technology rival Dell. HP bid $24 a share for 3Par, about 33 per cent more than Dell planned to pay in a deal announced a week ago. At the time, Dell’s bid for 3Par, which makes storage products that [...]