Transocean sees $270m profit from BP oil rig blast insurance payments May 9, 2010 TRANSOCEAN, owners of the oil rig that exploded and subsequently sunk into the Gulf of Mexico, has made a $270m (£182m) profit from insurance payouts connected with the catastrophe. The group’s “accounting gain” comes after Transocean, which has already received a cash payment of $401m, took out a $560m insurance policy on its Deepwater Horizon [...]
BT expects to return to profit May 9, 2010 BT is this week expected to announce a return to profit while also revealing it has cut 5,000 more jobs than expected. The firm, which recorded its first loss for eight years in 2009, is expected to report annual pre-tax profits of £1bn to £1.1bn, compared with a £134m loss in 2009. Concerns are likely [...]
Nasdaq vows to stop bickering May 9, 2010 The two largest US stock exchange operators, NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX Group, called a truce and issued a joint statement yesterday, pledging to co-operate with each other and regulators to get to the bottom of last week’s dramatic stock market plunge. The exchanges have fought bitterly for years as more trading was done electronically.
US market regulators pressured May 9, 2010 Three days after a chilling plunge in stock prices and no closer to knowing why it happened, US regulators faced pressure yesterday to put up emergency measures to prevent a repeat of the episode. Tempers were short in Washington. Lawmakers wanted to know why regulators had no answers while the Securities and Exchange Commission and [...]
Euro flights grounded by looming ash May 9, 2010 FLIGHTS into and from mainland Europe faced disruptions yesterday after the ash cloud emanating from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to threaten air safety. Airports in Italy, Spain and Portugal faced a slew of weekend closures as authorities continued to report thick ash concentration between the ground and 20,000 feet in the air, grounding hundreds of [...]
BA strike likely as crew vote down proposal May 9, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) cabin crew voted overwhelmingly in favour of rejecting the airline’s latest offer, signalling that a further strike is likely. Up to 81 per cent of crew voted against the offer presented by BA last month after more than 70 per cent of the airline’s 12,500 cabin staff took to the polls. BA [...]
Sony eyes bid for label EMI May 9, 2010 SONY Music could bid for troubled record label EMI after a whirlwind weekend for the firm. Head of Sony Music Rolf Schmidt-Holz said: “We are in a position that allows us to seize every opportunity in the market – including EMI.” The speculation comes after Guy Hands appeared to pull off an audacious eleventh-hour deal [...]
Employment can be solved by backing mid-sized firms May 9, 2010 MID-SIZED companies hold the key to plugging the UK unemployment gap as public sector cuts loom, according to a leading economic forecasting group. The Ernst & Young Item Club says that mid-sized companies are even more important than start-ups in creating employment, adding that it is vital that they receive backing from the government as [...]
Opec warns market oversupplied as it holds fire on the debt crisis May 9, 2010 GLOBAL oil markets are oversupplied but OPEC thinks it is too early for the group to take action to halt a recent decline in prices as fallout from the euro zone debt crisis sets in. OPEC secretary general Abdullah al-Badri yesterday said global oil markets were oversupplied, urging greater compliance among members of the group. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 9, 2010 BARCLAYS UBS maintains a “buy” rating on Barclays and says revenues in the investment bank are set to grow as newer businesses start to deliver. The sharp negative reaction to Barclays’ trading update last month was on a weaker revenue performance than expected but UBS says the lower revenue was counterbalanced by lower costs. It [...]
