OFT to probe Thomas Cook and Co-op merger January 7, 2011 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to probe a move by Thomas Cook and the Co-operative Group to merge their High Street travel businesses. The European Commission had studied the deal but decided the OFT was better placed to investigate because the merger would only affect UK business. Thomas Cook said it would “continue [...]
CSC revises bid for Trafford Centre January 7, 2011 Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) has announced new terms for its proposed acquisition of Manchester’s Trafford Centre from Peel Group. CSC said the shares for The Trafford Centre will be issued at 400p rather than the 368p originally agreed. The number of shares Peel will receive has been cut to 205.9m, from 224.1m as a result [...]
EasyJet passenger numbers climb January 7, 2011 EasyJet’a passenger traffic numbers rose 7.6 per cent from a year earlier in December, following a similar rise in numbers at rival budget airline Ryanair. EasyJet said it carried 3,657,186 last month, while its load factor – which measures the amount of seats filled on a plane – rose by 0.4 percentage points from last [...]
SLAP IN THE FACE January 6, 2011 Cameron excludes City from list of growth industries in keynote speech on economy DAVID Cameron delivered a remarkable snub to the City yesterday, after he excluded it from a list of Britain’s “high growth” industries. In a speech outlining where he expects growth to come from in the coming years, the Prime Minister said that [...]
Slap in the face January 6, 2011 DAVID Cameron delivered a remarkable snub to the City yesterday, after he excluded it from a list of Britain’s “high growth” industries. In a speech outlining where he expects growth to come from in the coming years, the Prime Minister said that tourism, green energy, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and aerospace were the five “industries of [...]
Cost of snow hitting home January 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S economy took a hammering from the winter freeze, with the service sector contracting in December and retailers being hit, it was revealed yesterday. The country’s largest sector experienced its first decline for 20 months, stalling the recovery. The business activity index, compiled by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), dropped [...]
Gimmicks and spin won’t rescue UK January 6, 2011 THERE is much that this government is doing that is good for growth. Its determination to cut public spending is the only reason we haven’t gone the way of Greece. Reducing corporation tax to 24 per cent is an excellent idea. The coalition’s Entrepreneurs Visa is a good thing – but its effect is partly [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLDMAN TEES UP SALE OF JAPAN GOLF COURSE Goldman Sachs is ending its long love affair with golf in Japan. The US investment bank is seeking buyers for its remaining stake in Accordia Golf, the country’s largest golf course operator. The proposed sale comes as Japan’s enthusiasm for golf is also cooling – [...]
Morgan Stanley shifts execs January 6, 2011 Investment bank Morgan Stanley has moved Colm Kelleher, co-president of institutional securities, to London in a promotion giving him responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Asia excluding Japan. He joins Walid Chammah, now chairman of Morgan Stanley International. The move supports the bank’s international growth push and strengthens its emerging markets presence.
Brazil moves to curb the real January 6, 2011 Brazil took another bold move yesterday to curb its hard-charging currency by making it more costly for banks to bet the real will keep strengthening. The central bank introduced a reserve requirement on banks’ short positions in US dollars – a bet the real will strengthen versus the greenback – in hopes of reducing speculative [...]