Rail and bus firms deliver revenue gains November 1, 2011 TRANSPORT firms Stagecoach and National Express reported rising ticket sales yesterday as commuters looking to avoid the high cost of cars turn to buses and trains. Underlying revenue at Stagecoach’s domestic rail business, which includes South West Trains, grew 8.7 per cent in the 24 weeks to 16 October, while Virgin Rail Group, a joint [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAS YOUR TRAIN CARRIAGE BEEN GETTING BUSIER? November 1, 2011 RON BARNES | MILES SMITH “Yes, they have become so busy that it is unbearable. The new fast trains on my route have been allowed to increase fares more than others. There also seem to be more houses being built along the line, presumably because of such expensive housing closer to the City.” CLIVE GILBERT [...]
Inchcape turnover gets lift from Asia Pacific as Europe weakens November 1, 2011 MULTINATIONAL car dealer Inchcape yesterday posted a rise in third-quarter revenue with an uneven global recovery in the car industry showing strong growth in Asia Pacific and the emerging markets, and a further weakening of consumer confidence across the UK and Europe. The British-based firm, which sells and distributes cars for manufacturers such as Toyota, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 1, 2011 Marsh The insurance broker and risk adviser has appointed David Batchelor as head of its international division, comprising all operations outside North America. Batchelor, who will relocate to New York from London early next year, will remain chief executive of Marsh’s EMEA region throughout 2011. Batchelor began his career in 1976 at Bowring, which was [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 1, 2011 XCHANGING Panmure Gordon has upgraded the outsourcing company from “sell” to “hold” with a target price of 70p, seeing long-term value in the business, whose shares have lost more than 30 per cent in the last three months. The broker says good progress has been made this year since the appointment of Ken Lever as [...]
Shock of Greek referendum sends financial stocks down November 1, 2011 FINANCIAL stocks led Britain’s FTSE 100 sharply lower yesterday, after the Greek Prime Minister’s call for a referendum on the bailout package agreed last week sent shockwaves through markets and heightened tensions over debt contagion. London’s blue chips fell 122.65 points or 2.2 per cent to 5,421.57, echoing similar falls across the globe as investors [...]
Torrent of EU news batters Wall Street November 1, 2011 US stocks tumbled yesterday after investors were blindsided by a surprise call for a Greek referendum on an EU bailout plan, casting doubt on the sustainability of the recent market rally. The S&P 500 has slid more than five per cent so far this week in moves reminiscent of the stomach-churning market swings seen over [...]
The Olympic Park uncovered: The secrets that lie hidden beneath its green surface November 1, 2011 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES 2012 267 DAYS TO GO VISITORS to Stratford’s Olympic Park next year will be too busy attending magnificent sporting spectacles to give much thought to the work that was required to turn an East London industrial wasteland into a venue fit to receive the whole world’s attention. But Atkins, [...]
It’s not just the Eurozone: A trade crisis is growing. The G20 must show leadership November 1, 2011 THE crisis spawned in 2007 has in many ways come to resemble Hydra – the mythical many-headed serpent of Ancient Greece, which grew two new heads every time one was cut off – already last Wednesday’s Brussels Summit shows no sign of marking a true turning point for the Eurozone. And while the euro-crisis commands [...]
We need to teach financial literacy in all UK schools November 1, 2011 IT IS significant the e-petition calling for compulsory financial education in schools has this week become one of the first petitions to reach the threshold of 100,000 signatures and that the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People is the largest in parliament, with 224 cross-party MPs. We are a financially [...]
