Total in desperate bid to resolve Lindsey oil refinery job dispute June 23, 2009 TOTAL oil bosses entered into urgent talks with union leaders yesterday as thousands of workers walked out in protest at dismissals at the Lindsey oil refinery. Union officials demanded the French firm reinstate 647 workers at the Lindsey oil terminal in North Lincolnshire. The group was dismissed and told to reapply for their jobs after [...]
Fund bosses shrug off the correction June 23, 2009 FUND managers yesterday said that UK markets were facing a correction but that the FTSE 100 would not fall below the 3,500 level as it did in March. They said they were not preparing for a severe correction, after the UK’s blue chip index closed at 4,230 points yesterday, a 6.1 per cent fall on [...]
WHAT DO MARKETS NEED TO SEE BEFORE THE RECOVERY CAN RESUME? June 23, 2009 FRANCES HUDSON STANDARD LIFE INVESTMENTSThe next data that could prompt a reassessment of the situation will be second quarter earnings and, particularly, company guidance and outlook statements. Investors are looking to at least see improved visibility. We could also see more stock discrimination on quality grounds. MIKE LENHOFF BREWIN DOLPHINThree things – firstly, we are [...]
FSA: NO BREAK-UP OF GIANT BANKS June 23, 2009 LARGE banks won’t be forcibly broken-up by the authorities, Financial Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner told the Treasury Select Committee yesterday. But those that take greater risks should face more stringent capital requirements than smaller or safer rivals, he said. Turner praised a plan first aired by US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner, envisaging [...]
Vodafone to shift its HQ June 23, 2009 VODAFONE, the world’s biggest mobile operator by revenue, is shifting its headquarters to London, it said yesterday. The move will see chief executive Vittorio Colao and others move to Paddington in October. The company said it was moving to be closer to its business partners and shareholders – not to reduce costs. It will retain [...]
Fears over UK pensions June 23, 2009 NINETY-SIX per cent of blue chip companies say their final salary schemes are unsustainable, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report. And Prudential said people on defined contribution schemes would end up with a quarter of what those on final salary plans will get. The news came as the OECD put Britain at the bottom of [...]
Brit drops its Chaucer bid June 23, 2009 BRIT Insurance withdrew its bid for rival Lloyd’s of London insurer Chaucer Holdings yesterday, as private equity group Pamplona ramped up its assault on Chaucer by further boosting its stake. Brit said the board of Chaucer had decided not to recommend its £220m offer – worth almost a third less than for the group’s book [...]
Turner is right to reject Glass-Steagall June 23, 2009 TO my surprise, I found myself agreeing with a lot – though not all – of what Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), had to say to the Treasury Select Committee yesterday. He is right that it is impossible to impose maximum size limits on banks. He was also right that we [...]
Further delays at Boeing June 23, 2009 BOEING put a rain check on the first test flight of its troubled 787 Dreamliner for the fifth time yesterday, and blamed a structural problem for the latest blow to the company’s credibility. The planemaker declined to give a new date for the flight, or to confirm when the first delivery – which will also [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 23, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GCL-POLY TO BUY SOLAR ASSETS FOR $3.4BNGCL-Poly Energy, a Hong Kong-based power plant operator, said yesterday it would pay HK$26.4bn (£2bn) to acquire solar assets from its chairman as it seeks to expand in the green energy sector. The company said it would buy Jiangsu Zhongeng, a supplier of polysilicon and wafers used [...]
