BA cabin crew start vote on strike action January 25, 2010 BRITISH Airways staff began voting yesterday on possible strike action after the flag carrier’s bosses and unions failed to strike a deal on a planned shake-up of working conditions. The Unite trade union opened a strike ballot for the airline’s cabin crew after talks with the airline failed to secure a deal on changes to [...]
Tensator in talks with lender as £26m debt pile hangs overhead January 25, 2010 TENSATOR, the private equity-backed technology company, has delayed a covenant test until the end of the week as it grapples with £26m debt. The maker of queuing equipment for airports and museums blamed turbulent conditions for breaching covenants in June and September last year. It has pushed back December’s assessment until 31 January. Tensator has [...]
Watchdog backs council papers January 25, 2010 Regional newspaper groups were dealt a blow yesterday as the Audit Commission said free council-run newspapers were not wasting taxpayers’ money. The regulator’s chief executive, Steven Bundred, said few local authorities’ newspapers were in a position to compete with local media for advertising. “The money being spent by councils is not unreasonable, though they should [...]
Greek bonds relieve crisis January 25, 2010 GREECE regained a degree of market confidence yesterday as a hefty premium on the first Greek bond issue of the year led to strong demand, providing relief from a deep economic crisis that has battered its markets for weeks. Demand for the bond reached more than three times the initial offered size, a welcome boost [...]
US home sales lose tax boost January 25, 2010 SALES of previously owned US homes fell at the fastest pace on record last month as the boost from a popular tax credit faded, industry data showed yesterday. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said existing home sales fell 16.7 per cent to an annual rate of 5.45m units in December. Analysts had expected a [...]
Euro zone November orders revised higher on Germany January 25, 2010 GROWTH in euro zone industrial new orders for November was yesterday revised up to 2.7 per cent month-on-month from a previously reported 1.6 percent, following an upwards correction of the data for Germany. Germany said on Friday that the country’s orders rose 2.8 per cent month-on-month, up from a previously reported gain of 0.2 per [...]
ECB council member says plans for liquidity in place until March January 25, 2010 THE European Central Bank has already made all the important decisions regarding its liquidity measures through until the end of March, ECB governing council member Axel Weber was quoted as saying on yesterday. Weber said inflation risks in the euro zone are only slight and that the interest rates are appropriate. “In December we conducted [...]
Golden oldies can offer the City a wealth of experience January 25, 2010 YESTERDAY, the actress Jane Fonda announced that she is to film a new workout video at the age of 72, 30 years and one hip replacement after the video that made her a global star. In the world of business too, oldies are still going strong. Warren Buffett – who will be 80 in August [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS IT RIGHT FOR PEOPLE TO WORK PAST 65? January 25, 2010 ALEX GULLIFORD | JM FINN “As the average age increases, people are going to have to work to an older age as the burden on pensions gets greater and greater. I am very concerned with the situation particularly at the moment given we are said to be a broken nation” ROBIN HASTINGS | DRUCES SOLICITORS [...]
Chinese tycoon to raise new $1bn fund January 25, 2010 NEW HORIZON CAPITAL, whose co-founders include the son of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, will raise a $1bn (£616m) private equity fund. The fund will be solely focused on investing in domestic industry leaders who are ready to make an IPO, according to sources close to the matter. This would be the third and largest private [...]