Tube strike called off The two-week Tube drivers’ strike due to start next Monday was called off after a deal was struck through secret negotiations. Transport for London chief Mike Brown held talks with the RMT union and told leader Bob Crow that a driver at the centre of the dispute will be re-employed. Brown said the deal had [...]
Tesco to appeal to “aspirational” shoppers Tesco plans to create new brands to spruce up its product ranges and appeal to increasingly aspirational shoppers across the world, its new chief executive said. Phil Clarke, outlining his strategy for the supermarket group, also said Tesco would be online in all 15 of its markets this decade and, while it would continue to [...]
BG Group profit hit by North Sea tax Civil unrest in North Africa and floods in Australia conspired to hit British gas and oil producer BG Group’s profit in the first quarter and forced it to cut its output growth forecast for this year. Underlying pre-tax profit fell eight per cent, the company said in an update that missed forecasts and knocked 3.4 [...]
China in trade surplus surge May 10, 2011 China stormed back to post a hefty trade surplus in April as exports hit a record while imports eased more than expected, weighed down by sustained monetary tightening and high commodity prices. The surplus of $11.4bn (£6.9bn), nearly four times greater than expected, followed a small, rare trade deficit in the first quarter and could [...]
National Express in peace deal with rebel investor May 10, 2011 National Express and rebel investor Elliott Advisors said they had reached a truce which will prevent Elliott from challenging the company’s board publicly for at least a year. US hedge fund Elliott Advisors, the British transport group’s biggest shareholder with a 17.5 per cent stake, had called for a boardroom shakeup and accused the company [...]
Microsoft closes in on £5bn deal for Skype May 10, 2011 Microsoft Corp is close to buying Web video conferencing service Skype Technologies for $8.5bn (£5.1bn) including debt, a source familiar with the situation said, underscoring the technology giant’s growing ambition to plug a hole in its mobile offerings. Buying money-losing Skype would have no immediate impact on Microsoft’s finances, but would make clear its intention [...]
Easyjet half year loss doubles as fuel costs soar May 10, 2011 Easyjet has said its half year losses have almost doubled because of higher fuel costs and the tough consumer environment. The low cost airline reported pre-tax losses for the six months to the end of March of £153m ($250m), up from a loss of £79m on a year ago. Higher fuel costs accounted for £43m [...]
InterContinental books profit rise May 10, 2011 InterContinental Hotels, the world’s biggest hotelier, has reported a 28 per cent rise in first-quarter profit driven by a recovery in business travel and fast-growing economies like China. The British group, which operates Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza as well as InterContinental hotel brands, was expected to give an upbeat message to help offset a profit [...]
HSBC profit drops as costs rise May 9, 2011 HSBC said profits fell 14 per cent from a year ago as a jump in costs offset a fall in bad debts at Europe’s biggest bank. HSBC said it would also take a £268m provision to compensate customers who were wrongly sold insurance after banks scrapped a legal fight on the issue. That helped lift [...]
Centrica in tax rate blow May 9, 2011 Utility company Centrica expects 2011 earnings to grow at a more subdued pace than it previously thought and said it would scale down investments in the UK following the government’s decision to raise tax rates for oil and gas production. In March, Britain unexpectedly raised a supplementary tax charge on North Sea oil and gas [...]
