Lloyds axes 350 call centre staff November 30, 2009 MORE than 350 jobs are being axed at a Lloyds Banking Group call centre in Brighton, taking the bank’s total staff reduction plan to 15,000. In the latest plans for job cuts, Lloyds said it was planning to close its Sussex House contact centre in May next year and transfer work to other sites around [...]
Thames Water warns of a funding gap, but profits are on stream despite slump November 30, 2009 UTILITY Thames Water said yesterday it was facing a potential gap in funding as the downturn threw up a series of “significant challenges” for the industry. Soaring bad debt and the increasing cost of financing “will make it more difficult to fund the essential investment in the network that is required,” it said yesterday, as [...]
BAE signs up for joint venture November 30, 2009 BAE Systems said yesterday it had signed up for a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) to create an Indian company focusing on land military equipment. The parent companies’ initial investment will be $21.25m over a three year period. M&M will hold 74 per cent while BAE Systems will hold 26 per cent, according [...]
Shell’s talks with Essar extended November 30, 2009 Oil groups Shell and Essar said yesterday that negotiations on the sale of Shell’s three European refineries, at Stanlow in the UK, and Heide and Harburg in Germany, would go on beyond November. The two had announced they were in exclusive discussions at the end of October, with exclusivity due to end at the end [...]
Gulf director buys shares November 30, 2009 Gulf Keystone Petroleum said its non-executive director Jeremy Asher has purchased 2m shares in the company representing 0.41 per cent of its issued share capital at an average price of 94p per share through an Asher family trust company Agile Energy. The transaction gives Agile Energy a 2.9 per cent interest in the company. This [...]
BP hit by Alaska oil pipe leak November 30, 2009 BP discovered an oil and gas spill on a pipeline that serves the giant Prudhoe Bay oil fields in Alaska over the weekend, a company spokesman said yesterday. BP was assessing damages after it found the leak early on Sunday, a spokesman said. The line is one of dozens serving Prudhoe Bay, the biggest US [...]
Alesha Dixon dances her way to LAFitness role November 30, 2009 GYM chain LA Fitness yesterday said it had recruited singer and Strictly Come Dancing star Alesha Dixon as a board adviser. Dixon – who won the hit BBC talent contest before joining the show as a judge – has signed a four-year profit sharing deal with the gym chain. The advisory role is set to [...]
Ross returns to the City as Cosalt chair November 30, 2009 DAVID Ross, the co-founder of British mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse, has returned to the City as chairman of marine safety group Cosalt, months after he stepped down from this post in the wake of a share disclosure row. In December last year Ross quit a series of high-profile roles when it emerged he had [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 30, 2009 ATKINSInvestec said yesterday Atkins was weathering the economic downturn well, as it continued to adjust its resources to meet expected market demand. The group responded early to the recessionary challenges, it added, which shows in its results. The broker is keeping its “hold” view and raising its target price on the stock. DMGTInvestec also said [...]
International car sales are set for a rise next year as US and China lead the way November 30, 2009 CAR sales worldwide will reverse their decline next year, analysts at Groupama Asset Management said yesterday, as a strong recovery in the US and a pickup in trade in China offsets tumbling demand in Europe. The analysts said they expected sales worldwide to rise four per cent in 2010 despite a drop off in government [...]