ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND June 10, 2010 FILM LETTERS TO JULIET Romantic drama set in picturesque Italy, with Amanda Seyfried. BLACK DEATH Medieval twaddle – you know, swords, mud, plague – with Sean Bean. H2OIL Documentary about the oil industry. Did someone say “timely”? DVD A SINGLE MAN Colin Firth is on Oscar-nominated form in Tom Ford’s super-stylish drama. A PROPHET Magnificent, [...]
the INSIDER June 10, 2010 OLE, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, the World Cup starts today. I’ve been growing my nails getting ready for the penalty shoot outs and red cards. It’s time for a lot of beer and a huge amount of highs and lows. I’m sure England will do well and I will be backing them in running [...]
BT strike talks collapse June 10, 2010 TALKS between the Communication Workers Union and British Telecoms group BT aimed at averting the company’s first strike for more than two decades have broken down. BT made a fresh two-year pay offer this week but the CWU, which represents more than 50,000 BT workers, said it failed to make any improvement on the existing [...]
Interest rates frozen at 0.5pc June 10, 2010 UK interest rates have been frozen at 0.5 per cent. The Bank of England is pursuing a “wait and see” strategy ahead of the budget. Its monetary policy committee (MPC) kept the rate at a record low for the fifteenth consecutive month. IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: “The government’s plans will become a [...]
Halfords eyes more acquisitions as profit surges June 10, 2010 HALFORDS is targeting more acquisitions with a hit list of up to a dozen targets. The company said it was hungry for expansion as it posted a 27 per cent jump in annual profit. Halfords, which in February bought British car servicing firm Nationwide Autocentres for £73m, made a pre-tax profit of £117m for the [...]
China exports up 48.5pc June 10, 2010 CHINESE exports jumped 48.5 per cent in May compared with the same month last year. The surge has raised concerns that the economy may be overheating and that the country should revalue its currency. Imports rose 48.3 per cent year-on-year, also stronger than expected. In April, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner postponed a report that [...]
Home Retail suffers as TV and video game sales slump June 10, 2010 HOME Retail Group posted a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter sales at its catalogue-based Argos stores, hit by a drop in demand for video games and televisions. The group, which also runs the Homebase, said economic conditions were challenging and uncertain but that it was still aiming to deliver flat profits over the full financial year [...]
BAA passenger numbers down after strike and ash cloud June 10, 2010 BAA’s passenger traffic in May dropped compared with last year after being hit by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud and British Airways’ cabin crew industrial action. BAA’s UK airports handled 8.6m passengers in the month, which was a drop of 4.5 per cent on May 2009. Heathrow handled 5.3m passengers – 3.1 per cent down [...]
Top City banks hit by OFT probe June 9, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will today launch an investigation focusing on the prices investment banks charge for services such as advising companies and underwriting share offers heaping pressure onto an already embattled industry. “We can confirm that we are launching the early stages of a market study into equity underwriting,” an OFT spokesman [...]
US on the warpath over BP June 9, 2010 US-LISTED shares of BP plunged nearly 16 per cent last night, hitting their lowest level since 1996 as political pressure on the company over its handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill mounted and investors worried it might be forced to suspend its dividend. The plunging share price, came amid a growing backlash against [...]
