US home buyers rush to sign May 4, 2010 Pending homes sales in the United States jumped 5.3 per cent in March on the previous month and in line with analysts’ expectations. Economists said that prospective buyers rushing to complete before the homebuyer tax credit ended on 30 April had given the figures a boost. As a result, April should also be another month [...]
MORTGAGE APPROVALS INCH HIGHER May 4, 2010 DATA from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals only inched higher in March from February’s nine-month low. Approvals only amounted to 143,659 in the first quarter of 2010. But consumers are starting to demand credit, which rose for the fourth successive month after five months of net repayments.
Aer Lingus hit by €20m loss on ash chaos May 4, 2010 AER LINGUS has taken a €20m (£17.2m) hit from the chaos caused by the ash plume last month, the airline said yesterday. The Dublin based carrier said its financial performance for the second quarter of the year will be significantly impacted by the six-day flight ban and warned that the figure could be further affected [...]
Airlines face summer of cancellations, says IAA May 4, 2010 AIRLINES in Ireland and Scotland could face further disruptions to flight schedules this week after aviation authorities said they remain concerned that ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano could start drifting over the UK. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) warned yesterday that northerly winds forecast for the coming days could direct the ash cloud into UK [...]
Lufthansa posts wider losses as winter takes toll May 4, 2010 DEUTSCHE Lufthansa yesterday posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter operating loss as high fuel costs, strike measures, a harsh winter and the lagging performance at some of its units weighed on earnings. Its operating loss widened to €330m (£283m) from €44m a year earlier, the German flagship carrier said as it published key first-quarter results a day [...]
Bolland takes the helm as M&S chief May 4, 2010 A NEW era was ushered in at Marks & Spencer yesterday as former Morrisons chief Marc Bolland took the hot seat at the retailer. The Dutch executive faces the pressure of living up to a £15m remuneration package as he takes on the challenges of shaking up the company’s clothing range. Modernising the stock while [...]
Pearson sells IDC for $3.4bn May 4, 2010 SILVER Lake and Warburg Pincus are to buy financial data provider Interactive Data (IDC) for $3.4bn (£2.2bn) in cash, including a $2bn payment to majority owner Pearson which it will use for expansion purposes. Pearson – which owns the Financial Times, Penguin Books and a large education business – said it would use the proceeds [...]
Murdoch’s News Corp is boosted by film success May 4, 2010 NEWS Corp has reaped the rewards of the 3-D blockbuster Avatar by posting higher-than-expected quarterly profit. Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, whose revenue grew 19 per cent to $8.8bn (£5.8bn) for the quarter ended 31 March, also benefited from an improvement in the broader advertising market, which helped its newspapers and cable networks. “The quarter was [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT DOES MARC BOLLAND NEED TO CHANGE TO DRIVE M&S FORWARD? May 4, 2010 CARL NEWMAN | STEEL & SHAMASH “The strongest part of M&S’ business is the food, so that does not need to change. However, the new chief executive needs to take on everything else. The clothing is outdated and needs to attract a younger crowd. It needs to be rejuvenated.” JAMES TAYLOR | WILTON & BAIN [...]
First lady of broking buys out FinnCap May 4, 2010 ONE of the City’s hottest female rising stars has completed a £2.5m management buyout of her firm FinnCap, with the aim of growing it into the broker of choice for small cap companies in London. Chief executive Sam Smith at the weekend sealed a deal to buy back the outstanding 50 per cent of FinnCap [...]