Jaguar axes X-Type model and cuts jobs July 15, 2009 JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) is axing a further 300 jobs – this time at a plant in Merseyside – and is stopping production of its X-Type model, the carmaker said yesterday, as luxury cars are hit in the downturn. “Our industry has been especially badly hit by the recession and the premium sector more than [...]
Ousted GM boss to retire with $8.6m July 15, 2009 EX-GENERAL MOTORS (GM) boss Rick Wagoner is set to retire with a pension package worth $8.6m (£5.2m), it emerged yesterday, after he was ousted by the Obama administration in March. Wagoner, who ran GM for nine years, will get $1.64m every year for the first five years of his retirement, and an annual yearly pension [...]
Wetherspoon is boosted by cheap booze July 15, 2009 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon yesterday said it expected its pre-tax profit for the year to 26 July to come in towards the top end of market expectations, after cost cutting improved margins. The pub chain, known for its low-cost food and bargain booze said in a trading update that like-for-like sales in the financial year to [...]
Calpers sues credit rating agencies over poor gradings July 15, 2009 CALPERS, the biggest US public pension fund, has sued the three largest credit rating agencies for giving perfect grades to securities that later suffered huge subprime mortgage losses. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System said in a lawsuit filed last week in California Superior Court in San Francisco that it might lose more than $1bn [...]
Qatar sale will help Porsche cut debt July 15, 2009 PORSCHE is aiming to use a capital increase and the sale of a stake to Qatar to cut its net debt, which has ballooned to more than €10bn (£8.6bn). Qatar and the two families that control Porsche were last night poised to pump around €5bn into the company via a capital injection, helping offset debts [...]
Ex-Credit Suisse man is arrested July 15, 2009 A FORMER Credit Suisse trader facing trial on charges of fraudulently selling $1bn (£6.9m) worth of mortgage-backed auction-rate securities has been arrested after two months on the run, according to a court document made public yesterday. The arrest of Bulgarian national Julian Tzolov, who escaped from house arrest in New York and electronic monitoring on [...]
Ex-West Brom boss nets 520k July 15, 2009 THE ousted chief executive of West Bromwich Building Society, Stephen Karle, trousered a £520,600 pay-off last year, including an £82,000 bonus, despite presiding over risky lending that almost led to its collapse. Karle’s total pay package for the seven months until his sudden departure in October was £686,600 and he is also entitled to a [...]
Deflation hits Eurozone bloc July 15, 2009 THE Eurozone annual rate of inflation was negative in June for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999, official data showed yesterday. Eurostat said that annual inflation was -0.1 per cent last month, down from 0.0 per cent in May. Monthly inflation was 0.2 per cent. The fastest drop in prices [...]
PwC called in as Intimas fails July 15, 2009 INTIMAS, the lingerie firm that produces brands including Ted Baker Intimates, has called in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its administrator following prolonged trading woes. Chairman John Gibson, the 56-year old former Real Good Food Group boss, has called in PwC after the firm failed to secure new investment to save it from collapse. PwC joint administrator [...]
BT relief as an investor rebellion on exec pay fails to materialise July 15, 2009 BT has ridden out investor unrest over executive pay, after a majority of shareholders voted for its proposals at yesterday’s annual meeting. The Association of British Insurers had issued an amber top warning and investor body Pirc had urged BT shareholders to abstain from voting on the telecoms giant’s pay plans, in protest at a [...]
