Marketing spend is best in two years April 18, 2010 MARKETING budgets were raised in the first quarter of this year for the first time in ten quarters. Companies also remain upbeat about financial prospects, according to the latest IPA/BDO Bellwether survey. It found firms expect the ongoing economic recovery to gain momentum, and plan to raise their spending for 2010. Around 42 per cent [...]
Brits should ask for more April 18, 2010 THE IRISH saying tells us “never run after a bus or a man – there will always be another one”. It doesn’t ring true in this instance: as far as Deutsche Bahn (DB) is concerned, Arriva is one of a kind. With the European public transport market set for massive liberalisation over the next decade, [...]
Test flights to protest the European ban April 18, 2010 A RAFT of European commercial airliners launched test flights this weekend, despite flight bans, in a bid to protest against decisions to ground flights in the UK and most of Northern Europe as the Icelandic volcano continued to erupt. British Airways (BA), Air France, KLM and Lufthansa each flew a collection of test flights throughout [...]
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT TO THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY? April 18, 2010 HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “Even if the problem extends into weeks, the overall net economic impact should not be that great, although individual sectors, businesses and stranded individuals will undeniably increasingly suffer.” VIRGINIE VACCA | STANDARD & POOR’S EQUITY RESEARCH “The airlines are losing millions of euros a day and all they can [...]
VOLCANO CHAOS | AIRLINE UPDATES April 18, 2010 RYANAIR Ryanair has cancelled all Northern European flights until 1pm on Wednesday. It will continue to operate domestic flights throughout Southern Europe. easyJet.com All flights to and from Northern Europe, including the UK, are cancelled this morning until 1pm. easyJet will continue to operate a limited number of flights in Southern Europe. BRITISH AIRWAYS Flights [...]
HIT forced to take $500m write-down April 18, 2010 HIT Entertainment, the child entertainment distribution company, has written off $500m (£325m) of its value. The write-down of goodwill means the value of a £489m investment by private equity owners Apax Partners has effectively dropped to zero. Hit Entertainment, owners of Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and Barney the Dinosaur, recorded a pre-tax [...]
Report: regulation costs businesses up to £80bn a year April 18, 2010 BUSINESSES spend up to £80bn a year on regulation according to a recent report by the Institute of Directors (IoD), which has renewed calls for political parties to take the issue of over-regulation seriously. Today’s report suggests that directors at businesses are spending more than a month handling governmental red-tape and are spending an equivalent [...]
Greek bailout talks delayed by ash April 18, 2010 A MISSION of European officials and the International Monetary Fund to Greece has been delayed by the volcanic ash cloud and will arrive on April 21 if possible, Greece’s Finance Ministry said yesterday. Struggling under a huge budget shortfall and debt pile, Greece requested the talks with the European Union, the European Central Bank and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 18, 2010 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP AlphaValue has moved a recommendation for Lloyds Banking Group from “add” to “sell” and say that short term valuation approaches are detrimental to the stock valuation due to Lloyd’s recovery profile. AlphaValue’s target price for Lloyds is currently 81p. NOBEL BIOCARE Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Equity Research has called Nobel Biocare’s stocks [...]
L’Occitane to list in Hong Kong April 18, 2010 Cosmetics retailer L’Occitane International plans to raise up to $708m (£460.9m) in a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said last night. L’Occitane, which manufactures products including almond and olive-based creams, would be the first French company to list in Hong Kong. The company was not immediately available for comment. [...]