Magna, GM and unions meet in a move to save UK jobs at Vauxhall car plants October 7, 2009 BUSINESS minister Pat McFadden and bosses at Unite union last night met with Magna International, the new owner of Vauxhall, in the latest move to save British jobs. The news comes as Germany looks set to consult British officials as early as next week on Magna’s takeover of General Motor’s (GM) European unit, which is [...]
New cars to have digital radio installed from 2014 October 7, 2009 CAR makers have agreed to make digital radios standard in cars from the start of 2014, following the Digital Britain White Paper in June which anticipates FM stations being switched off after 2015. “We’re really encouraged that both industries are positive. It will be a big logistical challenge but we have finally take the first [...]
PLATFORM CHANGES October 7, 2009 PLATFORM 9 Jan 13 Mar 12 Jun 11 Sep 7 OctLSE 82% 79% 72% 68% 64%Chi-X 11% 14% 17% 19% 22%Turquoise 6% 5% 6% [...]
TORIES MULL TAX ON BAILED-OUT BANKS October 7, 2009 A TORY government would consider a “windfall” tax on UK banks that have received state support, in an apparent sign of shadow chancellor George Osborne’s willingness to play hardball with the City. One possibility for the tax, currently being discussed at the highest levels within the party, would take the shape of a new accounting [...]
Lloyds plans a 12.5bn share issue October 7, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will turn to traditional investors rather than a sovereign wealth fund to help it raise up to £25bn to exit the government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS), City A.M. can reveal. Sources familiar with the bank’s plans said last night that it had submitted a proposal to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that [...]
Davis says no to ITV chair October 7, 2009 EX-REED Elsevier chief executive Sir Crispin Davis has walked away from the opportunity to become ITV’s chairman, dealing another blow to the troubled broadcaster. Davis – who was the board’s favourite to replace Michael Grade – is said to have felt the job was too high profile for his first time as a company chairman. [...]
A windfall tax on banks is a bad idea October 7, 2009 IT is now clear that the Tories have it in for the banks. I wrote in this space yesterday about their interest in reviving a version of Lord Howe’s 1981 windfall tax on high street banks; we now know in much more detail one of the ideas they are working on, courtesy of revelations in [...]
Ladbrokes to raise 300m October 7, 2009 BETTING giant Ladbrokes will today call on investors to participate in a £300m rights issue as it struggles to pay off mounting debts. The bookmaker has moved to cut costs and has already slashed its dividend but is still battling a debt pile which had reached £962m at the half year. The firm, which is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 7, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESMICROSOFT NEARER TO EU DEALMicrosoft yesterday scored an important breakthrough in its long-running battle with European regulators, paving the way for an end to a highly charged dispute that has hung over the US?software company for much of this decade in one of its most important markets. The EU’s antitrust watchdog said that it [...]
Gold hits fresh all-time high October 7, 2009 Gold prices hit a record for a second consecutive day to close at $1,050 an ounce yesterday as investors bet that trading momentum would push the precious metal higher still. It came a day after having pushed past the previous record of $1,033.9, which was set in March last year. Investors have been sending gold [...]