Boeing seals record $22bn planes order February 14, 2012 BOEING yesterday officially sealed its largest ever commercial plane order in a $22.4bn (£14.2bn) deal with Indonesia’s Lion Air. Lion Air ordered 201 Boeing 737 MAX and 29 next-generation 737-900ERs, with purchase rights for a further 150 planes from the US manufacturer, for use on both domestic and international routes. Boeing said the deal was [...]
Cairn triggers $3.5bn share buyback offer for investors February 14, 2012 CAIRN Energy yesterday kicked off its share buyback scheme made possible by the sale of 40 per cent of its Indian operations to Vedanta. Shareholders were offered the chance to sell their stock at a premium or to pocket a bumper dividend and retain them. The company said that more than 64 per cent had [...]
Actelion profits are set to freeze February 14, 2012 SWISS pharmaceutical giant Actelion said yesterday it expected profits in 2012 to remain at 2011 levels. The company set a target for its earnings, to be unchanged from SFr437.5m (£303.4m) in 2011. The Tracleer lung treatment is one of the company’s mainstays but it is facing ever increasing competition. The company is working on a [...]
ThyssenKrupp swings to loss February 14, 2012 THYSSENKRUPP, Germany’s biggest steel maker, swung to a surprise €357m (£227.2m) operating loss in the last quarter of 2011 as weak demand from customers rattled by Europe’s debt crisis hit prices. The group, which last month agreed to sell its struggling stainless steel unit, said yesterday it was unable to give a reliable forecast for [...]
Bank of Japan steps up QE in deflation war February 14, 2012 THE YEN fell against the dollar yesterday after the Bank of Japan announced a 10 trillion yen (£81bn) expansion of its asset purchase program. Despite years battling deflation, it is the first time the central bank has stated an explicit inflation target. It now aims for consumer price inflation of one per cent. The monetary [...]
Hester had no choice but to turn down bonus February 14, 2012 PEOPLE are chemically programmed to feel more comfortable when they are in agreement with those around them. This affects people in power just as much as everyone else – indeed it may affect them even more, as their decisions have wider effects. Public opinion is becoming more influential, as the digital age gives the public [...]
Weak US retail sales cast doubt on pace of recovery February 14, 2012 WORLD stocks retreated yesterday over concerns about the economic recovery stemming from weak US retail sales data, a day after a broad measure of US equities notched an almost seven-month high. Sales increased 0.4 per cent in January, the Commerce Department said, less than the 0.7 per cent rise expected by economists polled by Reuters. [...]
UK workers putting back retirement February 14, 2012 MORE than one in ten people who were planning to retire this year will now delay taking their pensions, according to research out today from Prudential. Of those postponing retirement, 68 per cent say they are putting it off because they cannot afford to retire as originally planned. But almost a third of those delaying [...]
Britain faces a recession, says leading index report February 14, 2012 FALLING consumer and business confidence points to a shallow recession for the UK economy, the US-based Conference Board said yesterday. The group’s Leading Indicator Index (LEI) fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, down 0.5 points to 102.0, based on a figure of 100 in 2004. However, the Coincident Economic Index, measuring current activity, [...]
Who’s to blame for recent anti-business sentiment? February 14, 2012 This week, we are asking members of our Voice of the City panel, run with PoliticsHome.com, how they think recent anti-business sentiment is affecting the country. Following the decision by Moody’s to place the UK on a negative credit rating outlook, chancellor George Osborne took to the airwaves yesterday to hit out at the BBC [...]
