Dairy Crest rates cheese better than butter as spread sales dip September 23, 2013 DAIRY Crest hailed Cathedral City cheese as its star performer yesterday, as it predicted steady sales for its first half of the year. The dairy food producer, whose products also include Clover, Utterly Butterly and Country Life, said sales of its four key brands for the six months to 30 September are likely to be [...]
Bangladesh garment factories are forced to shut as protests continue September 23, 2013 MORE than 100 Bangladeshi garment factories were forced to shut yesterday as thousands of workers protested to demand a $100 a month minimum wage and about 50 people were injured in clashes, police and witnesses said. Garments are a vital sector for Bangladesh and its low wages and duty-free access to western markets have helped [...]
GM to buy back preferred shares September 23, 2013 General Motors said yesterday it would buy back just under half of its preferred shares held by the United Auto Workers healthcare trust for about $3.2bn, cutting costs by financing the deal with lower-cost debt. To finance the purchase of 120m of the Series A preferred stock from the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust at [...]
Canada counts Alberta flood costs September 23, 2013 The massive floods that devastated swaths of southern Alberta in June are estimated to be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada pegging the property damage at C$1.7bn (£1.03bn). The bureau, which represents Canadian home, cars and business insurers, said the preliminary estimate for the floods surpassed the C$1.57bn [...]
Cuba plans port and trade zone September 23, 2013 Cuba published rules and regulations yesterday governing its first special development zone, touting new port facilities in Mariel Bay in a bid to attract investors and take advantage of a renovated Panama Canal. The decree establishing the zone and related rules takes effect on 1 November and includes tax and customs breaks for foreign and [...]
City Moves for 24 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 23, 2013 Rockspring The property investment company has announced the appointment of David Thomas as European director responsible for its fund accounting team. Thomas was most recently at PwC, where he spent nine years specialising in investment management and real estate. Barclays The bank has recruited Peter Horrell as chief executive of its wealth and investment management [...]
Total to taper its investments from next year September 23, 2013 FRENCH oil giant Total said yesterday that it would bring its investment spend down next year while its oil and gas production will grow to 2.6m barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2015, boosting the company’s available cash flow. Investors were eager to know how the French oil major would taper its unprecedented [...]
Lamborghini bullish on US and India as crackdown hits China September 23, 2013 ITALIAN car maker Lamborghini will struggle to find another China as sales of its super-sports cars in the world’s biggest auto market have hit the skids due to a government campaign against conspicuous spending, chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said yesterday. However, Automobili Lamborghini, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, sees long-term potential in the nascent Indian market [...]
Statoil finds natural gas but no oil in the Arctic Ice Crystal well September 23, 2013 NORWEGIAN energy explorer Statoil found only natural gas and no oil at the Ice Crystal prospect in the Arctic Barents Sea, the company and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said yesterday. “Our main goal was to find oil… but unfortunately it did not materialise,” said Gro Haatvedt, senior vice president for exploration in Norway. “We still [...]
Norwegian Air calls in Boeing to explain new Dreamliner glitches September 23, 2013 NORWEGIAN Air has called in Boeing management for a meeting in Oslo this week following a slew of technical problems with its two Dreamliner planes, the low-cost carrier said yesterday. “We are going to tell them this situation is far from good enough,” company spokeswoman Anne-Sissel Skaanvik said. “We have not had the reliability that [...]