Germans eye stake in UK’s air controller December 11, 2011 GERMAN air traffic controller Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is preparing to make a bid for the government’s stake in British equivalent Nats, according to reports. The state-owned German business is believed to have approached London investment banks earlier this month about advising on a deal to acquire the government’s 49 per cent stake in Nats, which [...]
Prices soar for basic services on board the no-frills Ryanair December 11, 2011 FAMILIES are most likely to be affected by Ryanair’s hiked prices next year as the Irish airline prepares to increase charges for many of its passenger services as of 15 December. Under the new rules, a 15kg bag checked in at the airport, without being pre-booked, will cost the customer £100 in peak season (June [...]
Sir Stelios set to launch car club with founder of lastminute.com December 11, 2011 EASYJET’S Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has joined forces with lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman to launch a new car-sharing business. The Car Club website will allow car owners to rent out their cars when they are not using them, while also allowing hirers to rent cars closer to home at potentially cheaper prices than a conventional car [...]
Bank weighs up new global finance rules December 11, 2011 THE THREAT to financial stability from rising global capital flows could see regulators call for a new “rules-based system of global economic management”, according to papers released this morning by the Bank of England. The Bank’s latest financial stability paper explores a “fundamental overhaul of the International Monetary and Financial System (IMFS)”, including the possibility [...]
Retailers add cheer to gloomy high st December 11, 2011 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis has offered some hope to the ongoing high street gloom by revealing record sales last week as the Christmas shopping season gained momentum. Sales rose by two per cent to £123.5 in the week to December 10, rising 12.5 per cent on a two-year basis as customers snapped up winter clothes [...]
Plan B would risk another recession, coalition is told December 11, 2011 A “PLAN B” involving higher government spending would risk pushing the UK into another recession, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) will argue today. The costs of servicing even greater government debt levels would prompt higher taxes towards the end of the parliamentary term, the think tank will warn chancellor George Osborne. “We must resist [...]
UK renewables policy attacked by think tank December 11, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT’S policy of pushing the UK towards renewable energy sources faces attack today from a Westminster think tank. “Wind and solar power do little to reduce carbon emissions, as they need large-scale back up generating capacity to compensate for their intermittency,” the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) will state in a new report. The government [...]
First fall in the capital’s output since April ‘09 December 11, 2011 LONDON’S private sector output contracted last month, according to a business survey released this morning by Lloyds TSB. The worrying finding marked the first decline in the capital’s business activity for over two and a half years. The business activity index slipped to a reading of 49.3 in November, down from 50.4. Scores below 50 [...]
Animator to be first AIM listed Portuguese firm December 11, 2011 SPORTS personality animation business Sports Stars Media (SSM) will today announce its intention to float in a move that would make it the only Portuguese AIM-listed company. The company, which has its creation and production facilities in Portugal, is looking to go public in February 2012, raising £1.75m and giving the company a market cap [...]
Olympic Media Buzz LONDON 2012 PARTNERS December 11, 2011 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan, the media monitoring and analytics platform, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the partners for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 12 October to Wednesday 19 October. BT [...]
