Eco-warrior pipe dream gets real August 16, 2011 LEONARDO DiCaprio has one. In fact, diCaprio has the first production Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports car ever built. And he paid for it. That one of the world’s biggest film stars is driving the world’s most eco-friendly sports car is perhaps not so surprising. But the man that built it is car designer Henrik [...]
CAR TALK August 16, 2011 PRIUS PLUG-IN Toyota is introducing a plug-in version of its Prius hybrid electric car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) has an extended EV (electric power only) range – of up to 12.5 miles – and can achieve 128 mpg and has CO2 emissions of just 49g/km, [...]
Regulator fines Sir Ken Morrison over share sale August 16, 2011 The Financial Services Authority has fined Ken Morrison, former chairman of supermarket chain William Morrison Supermarkets £210,000 for failing to disclose a series of shareholdings in the company. In a statement the FSA said Morrison, who retired in March 2008, had failed to disclose shares sales in 2009 and 2010 which reduced his holding in [...]
German GDP blow drags down markets August 16, 2011 European markets were this morning dragged down by figures showing spluttering German GDP growth. The slowdown in the Eurozone’s strongest economy cast a shadow over today’s summit between France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Angela Merkel aimed at hammering out solutions to the bloc’s debt crisis. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down [...]
Inflation rises more than forecast August 16, 2011 Inflation ticked up slightly more than expected in July, the Office for National Statistics said, as banks raised fees and retailers had slashed prices in summer sales already in June. Further price increases have been expected by the Bank of England, which sees inflation peaking later this year at five per cent before falling back [...]
Resolution profits rise August 16, 2011 Insurance consolidator Resolution reported stronger interim profits, driven by acquisitions, and said it was on course to hit its financial targets. Resolution, created to buy underperforming UK life insurers and merge them into a more profitable whole, made a pre-tax operating profit of £390m in the six months to 30 June, up from 151 million [...]
Thomas Cook gets final go-ahead for Co-op travel deal August 16, 2011 The Competition Commission has cleared a merger between struggling Thomas Cook’s UK retail business and those of the Co-operative group and Midlands Co-operative Society, to create the country’s biggest retail travel operation. The deal will bring together three of the biggest travel agents on the high street. Thomas Cook currently has 780 stores, while the [...]
German economic growth stutters August 16, 2011 The German economy;s growth slowed between April and June, and was weaker at the start of the year than previously thought, figures show. The economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the quarter, according to provisional figures from the national statistics office. Growth in the first three months of the year was 1.3 per cent [...]
Bailouts are bad but didn’t cause riots August 16, 2011 THERE are lots of problems in our society, much hypocrisy and many bad practices. White collar crime in the City or the House of Commons should be pursued and punished; it is right to cast the spotlight on the misdeeds of those at the top of society as well as those at the bottom. But [...]
Google snaps up Motorola arm for £8bn August 15, 2011 GOOGLE yesterday made its biggest-ever acquisition by spending $12.5bn (£7.6bn) on Motorola Mobility. The purchase of the phone and tablet-maker, which will be run as a separate business, marks a surprise move into mobile hardware for Google, which has recently seen its Android software become the most popular smartphone platform. However, analysts say the motivation [...]
