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 [...]
House prices fall 1.4 per cent in April May 9, 2011 House prices fell 1.4 per cent in April, mortgage lender Halifax said. That confounded analysts’ forecasts for a rise of 0.1 per cent, and left average prices in the three months to April 3.7 per cent lower than a year earlier. The average price of a home stood at £160,395 pounds, according to the figures.
Serco “on target” thanks to contract wins May 9, 2011 Outsourcing group Serco said it was on track with its 2011 expectations after some strong contract wins and was well placed to achieve future revenue targets. Serco, which among other things runs London’s cycle-hire scheme and Dubai’s metro, said it had won £1.6bn worth of work since the start of its financial year on 1 [...]
Thomas Cook warns of grim 2011 May 9, 2011 Tour operator Thomas Cook warned its British business was likely to perform worse than last year after reporting an increased first half loss. Europe’s second-biggest travel firm said it faced tough market conditions and a difficult economic environment in the UK, as inflation, unemployment and expectations of higher interest rates hurt consumer sentiment. The company [...]
