JJB director’s golden goodbye March 28, 2010 JJB will splash out £150,000 for the privilege of parting company with its director of 10 months Colin Tranter. Sources say the firm is close to hiring a new director who will be tasked with turning around its falling sales, which were down 21 per cent last year.
EasyJet to pay dividend March 28, 2010 EasyJet will pay a dividend to shareholders after the board of directors at the low-cost airline finally came to an agreement. Sources close to the company said the move would be a compromise that could mean EasyJet sees its growth slowed and investment in new aircraft curbed. However, the firm will be glad to put [...]
Sports Direct to up Blacks bid March 28, 2010 Sports Direct could up its bid for Blacks Leisure despite fierce opposition. Mike Ashley, owner of Newcastle United, is expected to significantly increase the £26m bid already on the table. However, he will also have to win over suppliers, including North Face, who are believed to be considering withholding their stock should Ashley take control [...]
Third strike to be called by BA crew March 28, 2010 AIR passengers could face a third set of travel disruptions next month if British Airways (BA) and trade union Unite do not come to an agreement. Unite said that after the completion of the strike this weekend, the union will be in a position to call a further strike period after the Easter holidays. A [...]
Network Rail to meet trade unions March 28, 2010 RAIL unions are set to go back into talks with Network Rail today in a bid to avoid a post-Easter industrial action. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) said that rail unions Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will sit down with Network Rail to resolve their dispute. [...]
Sports bodies ready for ruling March 28, 2010 SPORTING bodies and TV networks are gearing up for an Ofcom ruling, expected this week, that could cap the wholesale price Sky can charge its rivals for Premier League matches. Bodies such as the Premier League and the Rugby Football Union have voiced concern their revenues could be hit by the ruling. However, analysts are [...]
Mobile charges to be slashed March 28, 2010 AFTER a review of the cost of connecting mobile phone calls from one network to another, Ofcom has ruled that UK mobile phone companies will have to cut their charges by at least a billion pounds a year. The regulator is expected to set rates from 2011 to 2015 that will see charges fall from [...]
Ford agrees sale of Volvo March 28, 2010 THE Chinese carmaker Geely has agreed to buy Volvo from US giant Ford for $1.8bn (£1.2bn) in the country’s biggest overseas car purchase to date. The takeover highlights China’s arrival as a major force in the global automobile industry and ends nearly two years of talks over Volvo. Geely said it had secured all the [...]
Nomura names ex-Lehman bankers as heads of EMEA March 28, 2010 JAPANESE investment bank Nomura has appointed two former Lehman Brothers dealmakers as joint heads of its equities business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Abdelkerim Karim and Sam Ruiz take the helm of the unit on 1 April, having joined the Tokyo-based group after it bought Lehman’s European operations in 2008. Ruiz, currently in [...]
Vodafone defiant over its stake in Verizon Wireless March 28, 2010 VODAFONE will not be pressured into selling its stake in US-based Verizon Wireless. Senior players at Vodafone are said to be incensed that its majority partner Verizon Communications has continued to block attempts to reinstate a dividend, despite the firm being close to paying down its £12.1bn debt pile. They believe Verizon is attempting to [...]