BA pilots set for pay cut as airlines slump June 7, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) pilots will vote this week on whether to take a voluntary pay cut, after the airline’s chief executive Willie Walsh said it was in a “fight for survival”. The carrier, which has reported record losses, said yesterday that union talks would “step up” this week, as pilots are balloted on how BA [...]
Vodafone row with Carphone resolved June 7, 2009 VODAFONE Group is expected to resume a sales agreement with Carphone Warehouse, ending a three-year dispute. It is understood that the deal would result in Vodafone mobile contracts being sold in Carphone’s 800 UK stores for the first time since 2006 when Vodafone switched to an exclusive agreement with Phones4U. Carphone said on Friday that [...]
Treasury to recoup cash via Lloyds share placing June 7, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will effectively pay the Treasury back £2.3bn of the state aid it has received today, making it the first government-recapitalised British bank to repay part of its loan. The taxpayer will recoup the money as part of Lloyds £4bn share placing, aimed at repaying the £4bn in preference shares it issued to [...]
Tube strike still on despite new pay proposal June 7, 2009 LONDON Underground (LU) this weekend renewed its calls for the union RMT to call off a planned strike that will bring chaos to the capital’s transport network from tomorrow evening. Tube workers are set to walk out on strike for 48 hours. LU made a revised four–year pay offer of 1.5 per cent this year [...]
LSE equity trading jumps in May June 7, 2009 The average daily value traded in equities on the London Stock Exchange increased nine per cent to £8.2bn in May compared with the daily average in April. However, the figure was still 36 per cent lower in comparison to the same month last year. The total equity value traded on the exchange in May was [...]
Starwood in IPO for toxic plays June 7, 2009 A fund affiliated with US private equity firm Starwood Capital Group has filed for an initial public offering of up to $500m (£313m) to invest in toxic assets, according to a regulatory filing. Starwood Properties Trust , created in May, plans to invest in commercial mortgage-backed securities sold under the U.S. government’s public-private investment program, [...]
BoI offers share savings refund June 7, 2009 The Bank of Ireland has refunded up to €20,800 (£18,183) to staff who took part in a share savings scheme that left them out of pocket following the collapse in its share price. The scheme launched in late 2003 and allowed staff to build up a fund that could be used to buy shares at [...]
Darling squares up to EU over regulatory powers June 7, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling faces a fight with European counterparts tomorrow over his opposition to any new pan-European regulator having executive power over the UK’s financial institutions. Darling is in favour of an EU-wide supervisory body that would identify and warn of systemic risks in the European banking sector. But at tomorrow’s Ecofin meeting of European [...]
EMERGENCY STOP FOR CHRYSLER SALE June 7, 2009 THREE Indiana state pension and construction funds asked the US Supreme Court to block Chrysler’s sale to Fiat yesterday, as they seek to appeal the sell-off. The news comes after a US appeals court gave the sale the green light last month. If the deal goes ahead, Fiat will own 20 per cent of Chrysler, [...]
Sterling falls on political uncertainty June 7, 2009 WITH all the uncertainty going on in Downing Street, economists and currency experts have been trying to predict what it all means for the value of sterling over the next few months. “The situation means that the investors are a bit more worried and so they’re less likely to buy British assets, which will have [...]