Arriva shares surge after takeover bid revealed March 17, 2010 BUS and rail group Arriva saw its shares shoot up by around a fifth after revealing it had caught the eye of a potential suitor. The FTSE 250-listed group said it had received an “unsolicited approach from a third party,” believed to be German transport group Deutsche Bahn. This already owns the Chiltern Line commuter [...]
Zara owner sees profits rise on new store openings March 17, 2010 THE owner of the Zara fashion chain has reported a five per cent rise in profits fuelled by hundreds of store openings last year. Inditex reported a net profit of £1.17bn in the year to 31 January. The company opened 343 new stores last year which helped to drive sales. The Spanish firm – which [...]
Unemployment in surprise drop March 17, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT levels in the UK are continuing to fall with fewer people claiming jobseeker’s allowance, fresh figures showed today. The number of people out of work fell by 33,000 to 2.45m in the three months to January – the lowest for almost a year. This left the jobless rate unchanged at 7.8 per cent. Meanwhile, [...]
Black cabs to be made in China March 17, 2010 LONDON black cab production is to transfer to China – moving away from Britain for the first time. Bodies and chassis for the latest TX4 model will only be assembled at manufacturer Manganese Bronze’s Coventry plant. Sixty jobs at the plant will be lost as a result of the switch of production to China. Manganese [...]
Brown: BA strike can still be averted March 17, 2010 GORDON Brown has said that a last-ditch agreement to avert a BA cabin crew strike is possible. The Prime Minister told parliament that the planned walkout – starting this weekend – was avoidable. He said: “What we need to do is to get the unions and the management to talk to each other. “I have [...]
Shell to axe 2,000 more jobs March 16, 2010 SHELL has announced plans to axe 2,000 jobs across the globe and reduce its refining capacity as part of massive cost-cutting shake-up. The oil giant will pull out of more than a third of its retail markets in the battle top save $1bn (£665.7m) by the close of this year Shell chief executive Peter Voser [...]
Why the City’s shipping supremo is battling an old rival for members March 16, 2010 THE CHIEF executive of the Baltic Exchange Jeremy Penn looks remarkably unruffled for a man who has just seen a rival come back for a second time in a concerted attempt to muscle in on his business. The head of the exchange that sets the prices for the majority of the world’s $200bn (£182bn) shipping [...]
Debenhams in sales boost March 16, 2010 DEBENHAMS has tipped its first-half profit to top last year’s as it posted a sales rise. The department store chain saw a 0.3 per cent rise in sales at stores open more than a year for the 26 weeks to 27 February and claimed it was winning market share. In the equivalent period the year [...]
Bank of England member warns economy could shrink March 15, 2010 BANK of England member Kate Barber has warned that the economy could shrink again but a double-dip recession is unlikely. Barker, who sits on the monetary policy committee that sets interest rates, predicted a another quarter of falling gross domestic product this year. She said: “It’s possible we will have a quarter when GDP falls, [...]
Liberty in sale of flagship store for £41.5m March 15, 2010 LIBERTY has confirmed it is selling its West End department store building for £41.5m to help pay off its debt. The company said it had exchanged contracts to sell the freehold interest in the 125,000-square- foot store, off Regent Street, to Sirosa Liberty Ltd. Liberty will take a 30-year lease on the building at an [...]
