Eurofighter jets get green light from the government May 14, 2009 THE government gave the green light for a third order of Eurofighter Typhoon jets yesterday, after months of delays caused by rising costs. The consortium which builds the jets, made up of BAE, EADS and Finmeccanica of Italy, welcomed the move, and said the deal was worth around €8bn (£7.16bn). The planes are expected to [...]
Chrysler to cut quarter of dealers May 14, 2009 AILING carmaker Chrysler is culling around a quarter of its retail showrooms, it said yesterday, and has asked for approval to terminate franchise agreements with almost 800 of its 3,100 dealerships, after it filed for bankruptcy last month. Chrysler and rival General Motors (GM) are facing pressure to axe dealerships to bring their large sales networks [...]
Luminar sees clubbers return May 14, 2009 Britain’s biggest nightclub operator Luminar posted a 36 per cent fall in full year underlying pre-tax profit yesterday, but said there were signs of a pick up in demand from cash-strapped clubbers. Luminar, which runs Oceana, Liquid and Lava & Ignite nightclub chains, said it had seen an “encouraging” recent 3.2 per cent year-on-year hike [...]
Thomas Cook confidence boost May 14, 2009 Thomas Cook, Europe’s second-biggest travel firm, said yesterday it was confident of meeting full year expectations as summer holiday bookings for 2009 remained robust despite tough economic conditions. The group said it had five per cent fewer summer holidays left to offload than at this stage last year, while selling prices had increased and margins [...]
Paddy Power buys Sportsbet May 14, 2009 Paddy Power yesterday said it will buy a controlling stake in Australian firm Sportsbet, as it ventures for the first time outside of Europe. Paddy Power will take a 51 per cent stake in the company which provides betting on Australian horse racing and other sports for online and telephone customers. The group will pay [...]
St Modwen joins cash call trail May 14, 2009 Property developer St Modwen yesterday said it had raised £102m in a cash call to reduce debt, avert firesales and stockpile cash for new acquisitions. The firm, which specialises in regeneration projects in towns and cities across Britain said it would raise £25.9m through a placing and £81.5m through an open offer before advisers took [...]
ITV cuts extra 40m in costs May 14, 2009 ITV SAID yesterday it will impose an additional £40m in cost savings in 2010, as it forecast that advertising revenue would fall by 16 per cent in the first half of the year. The struggling broadcaster said that it was making good progress towards its original target of cutting costs by £155m this year, but [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 14, 2009 Covington & BurlingThe law firm has appointed Daniel Pavin to its London-based European life sciences practice as a partner. Pavin is one of the UK’s leading life sciences transactional lawyers, with experience advising on both non-contentious and contentious matters, including commercial, partnering and collaboration agreements, mergers, acquisitions and strategic investments, contract disputes and data protection [...]
UK drinkers lift SABMiller May 14, 2009 WORLD number two brewer SABMiller said falls in the price of barley and other raw materials should boost earnings later this year after reporting a forecast beating nine per cent dip in full-year profits. The group said weak consumer demand, higher commodities and a strong dollar led pre-tax profits for the year to 31 March to fall [...]
National Grid to capitalise on Obama’s investment bonanza May 14, 2009 NATIONAL Grid was in bullish mood yesterday, pledging to take advantage of plans by president Barack Obama to invest in the US electricity network, despite reporting a 36 per cent annual pre tax profit fall. The UK electricity and gas provider, which derives around half of its business from its wholly-owned US subsidiary, said the [...]
