Holidaybreak losses widen as the weak pound takes its toll May 26, 2009 TRAVEL firm Holidaybreak yesterday reported half year losses had doubled at the group, but said current trading remains within expectations. The pre-tax loss for the six months ended 31 March 2009 jumped to £36.6m from £18.2m a year ago on revenue down to £153.2m from £156m. The group said demand for trips at its adventure [...]
MILES HAS THE MPC FACTOR May 26, 2009 MORGAN Stanley’s chief UK economist David Miles beat 71 other applicants when he clinched a £128,600 role on the Bank of England’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee. Miles will replace David Blanchflower, the policy maker widely credited with predicting the scale of the recession. Blanchflower leaves this week, and Miles is expected to stay for a [...]
Shell’s Linda Cook to stand down in June May 26, 2009 OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday that Linda Cook, an executive who lost out on the battle for the top job at the company, was standing down from her role as head of its gas and power division. Cook’s resignation comes ahead of current chief executive Jeroen van der Veer standing down on 1 [...]
US consumer confidence rises but house prices continue to fall May 26, 2009 FURTHER evidence of green shoots in the US emerged yesterday as stronger than expected consumer confidence data for May boosted optimism the recession could be nearly over. The Conference Board’s sentiment index jumped from a revised 40.8 in April to 54.9 in May, well above forecasts for 42, and suggesting underlying improvement in the economy. [...]
Luxury car sales fall after millionaires hit by crunch May 26, 2009 SALES of luxury cars have plummeted after the number of UK millionaires fell sharply on the back of the credit crunch. Sales of Bentleys are down 66 per cent so far this year, while sales of BMWs are down by 35 per cent, against a 29 per cent fall for the entire car market. In [...]
South African economy hit by recession May 26, 2009 SOUTH Africa’s economy suffered its sharpest contraction in a quarter of a century, declining by an annualised 6.4 per cent in the first three months of 2009 and confirming its first recession in 17 years. Africa’s biggest economy has been hard hit by global woes, with recession in developed countries slashing demand for its minerals [...]
LINDA COOK SHELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GAS & POWER May 26, 2009 Linda Cook joined Shell in Houston in 1980, and has been chief executive of Shell Gas & Power since 2000. She has also been a group managing director at the company. Born in Kansas City in 1958, Cook graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. She moved with her family [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 26, 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopersThe business advisory firm has appointed Ashley Unwin as head of its performance improvement consulting practice. Unwin joins from Terra Firma Capital Partners. Until recently, he was acting chief operating officer for EMI Music in North America and chief executive officer for EMI Music in the UK and Ireland. Prior to that, he was a [...]
Staff cash in after record Tesco profits May 26, 2009 MORE than 207,000 Tesco employees are to scoop up share bonuses worth a total of £98m, it was revealed yesterday, after the giant retailer posted record annual results. Under the group’s “Share in Success” scheme, checkout workers to store managers that have worked with the supermarket for at least a year by the end of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 26, 2009 PREMIER FOODSInvestec upgrades Premier Foods to “buy”, in spite of only recently downgrading it to “hold”. It says the drop in the share price following its recent trading update, together with likely better news on bread, makes it a more attractive proposition once again. Maintains 40p target price. “The foundations are in place for better [...]