OUT OF OFFICE June 16, 2010 BRAZIL! BRAZIL! AT UDDERBELLY The comedy and performance festival at the Southbank’s inflatable, inverted cow-shaped tent is into its second vibrant year, and the show setting the place alight is a Brazilian mix of samba, capoeira, carnival music, acrobatics and football – a perfect backdrop to World Cup fever. Until 18 July, Udderbelly, Southbank. www.udderbelly.co.uk. [...]
GM scraps Opel aid request June 16, 2010 OPEL yesterday turned its back on state assistance for its restructuring drive, abandoning months of talks with European governments and leaving parent General Motors to fund the programme. GM’s European arm said while its cash requirements were unchanged, the process of obtaining state aid was too slow and complex. “We cannot afford to have uncertain [...]
BA and Unite deadlocked as cabin crew talks collapse June 16, 2010 BRITISH Airways cabin staff are likely to be balloted for more walkouts in July after talks between the carrier and Unite the Union broke down yesterday. Acas, the reconciliation service, said the parties were “regrettably… unable to move closer to an agreement” following discussions over whether striking staff would have their travel perks reinstated. Industrial [...]
Apple sells over 600,000 units of iPhone 4 as pre-orders surge June 16, 2010 APPLE yesterday sold more than 600,000 units of its newest iPhone after just a day of pre-orders, surpassing analysts’ expectations and sending its shares up nearly three per cent yesterday. The maker of the iPad and iPod said it and carrier partner AT&T Inc had been forced to turn away “many” potential customers after the [...]
Spanish raider Bannaby can cause Gold Cup upset at a massive 25/1 June 16, 2010 SADLY there is no Yeats in this afternoon’s Ascot Gold Cup which means that there will be a new name engraved on the base of the trophy for the first time in five years. Aidan O’Brien will be hoping that Age Of Aquarius can fill the hoof prints left by his former stablemate, but he [...]
BUFFETT AND GATES CAMPAIGN FOR CHARITY June 16, 2010 INVESTOR Warren Buffett (top left) and Microsoft founder Bill Gates yesterday set-up a Giving Pledge campaign asking hundreds of billionaire Americans to give away at least 50 per cent of their wealth to charity.
AOL close to sale of Bebo June 16, 2010 AOL is close to selling social network site Bebo to private investment firm Criterion Capital Partners, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. AOL bought the site more than two years ago for $850m (£569.7m), but is now aiming to streamline its business since Time Warner spun it off last year. In April, [...]
Icahn has 31pc Lions Gate stake June 16, 2010 Billionaire Carl Icahn said yesterday that 12.5 per cent of Lions Gate Entertainment’s shares were tendered after his $7 a share offer, effectively giving him a 31 per cent stake in the studio. Under the terms of Lions Gate’s $340m (£230.6m) credit facility, any investor gaining more than 20 per cent of the studio, home [...]
France Tel in £67m bid June 16, 2010 France Telecom SA is planning to bid alongside a French magazine owner for a controlling stake in Le Monde. The French telecommunications operator and Groupe SFA PAR will bid around €80m (£66.9m) for a 65 per cent stake in Le Monde SA, said SFA owner Claude Perdriel yesterday.
Retirement age in France to rise to 62 June 16, 2010 FRENCH citizens face two more years of slogging away at work until they can retire, under new pensions system reforms unveiled by the country’s government yesterday. France plans to raise its minimum retirement age to 62 by 2018, from its current threshold of 60. The government will also increase taxes for top earners, targeting capital [...]
