Flybe buys Finnish airline July 1, 2011 Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, and Finnair have agreed to pay €25m (£22.6m) for Finnish Commuter Airlines (FCA), the country’s largest regional air carrier. Finnair said Flybe will pay 12m euros and Finnair 13m euros, both in cash, and set up a joint venture called Flybe Nordic. Finnair said it will buy FCA’s aircraft at [...]
China factory growth hits 28-month low July 1, 2011 China’s factory sector grew at its slowest pace in 28 months in June as new orders expanded less quickly, with weaker global demand and tight monetary policy at home pinching production. Although the moderation in activity did not point to a sharp drop-off in Chinese economic growth for now, the data was slightly worse than [...]
House prices flat in June June 30, 2011 House prices in England and Wales held steady in June, and this trend of broadly static prices is likely to continue for the rest of the year, mortgage lender Nationwide said. Nationwide’s June house price index showed no change on the month, compared to a 0.3 per cent rise in May, and was 1.1 percent [...]
UK clears News Corp’s Sky deal June 30, 2011 News Corp secured British government backing for its buyout of BSkyB after the minister responsible rejected complaints the move would give Rupert Murdoch too much power and influence. The Department of Media gave its blessing to the multi-billion-dollar deal after News Corp agreed to spin off BSkyB’s influential Sky News channel to ease competition concerns [...]
Consumer morale drops in June June 30, 2011 Consumer confidence slipped in June as a boost from the royal wedding and a run of sunny May bank holidays gave way to harsher economic realities. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index fell four points to -25 this month, giving back almost half of June’s near-record 10 point rise. All five categories in the index registered [...]
HMV profit dives by 60pc June 30, 2011 Struggling British music and DVD retailer HMV , which has been selling off assets in a bid to secure its future, said trading conditions were set to remain tough as it posted a 61 per cent drop in annual profit. The group, which has issued four profit warnings this year, said it made a profit [...]
National Express revenue lifts June 30, 2011 Transport group National Express said first half revenues grew across its bus and rail businesses at home and abroad and that it expects to continue performing well in the second half of the year. “Building on our encouraging revenue growth in the first half year, I expect National Express to deliver a significant improvement in [...]
Debenhams sales rise defies retail gloom June 30, 2011 DEBENHAMS said it would meet forecasts for year profit as it defied the general doom and gloom in the retail sector with a jump in second-half sales. The company said that consumers were still buying “treat” items like cosmetics while childrenswear was also performing well. Debenhams said sales at stores open more than a year, [...]
Lloyds to cut 15,000 more jobs June 30, 2011 Lloyds unveiled plans to cut 15,000 jobs, reduce costs and sell assets in a strategy review aimed at boosting the fortunes of the bank which had to be part-nationalised during the credit crisis. “We expect a reduction of 15,000 roles as a result of the simplification programme over the period,” Lloyds said in a statement. [...]
Bank of America to pay $20bn in charges June 29, 2011 Bank of America Corp said it expected to take more than $20bn (£12bn) in charges after settling with mortgage bond investors, resulting in a second-quarter loss. The $8.5 billion settlement removed a question mark that had been hovering over the bank since October, and its shares rallied. The deal, combined with other settlement-related charges, was [...]
