Madeleine suspect wins massive libel damages July 18, 2008 A suspect in the disappearance of schoolgirl Madeleine McCann in Portugal last year won £600,000 in libel damages yesterday for “the utter destruction” of his life. The 10 newspapers involved in the case had wrongly accused Robert Murat, who lived in the same resort where McCann vanished last May sparking an international search, of being [...]
Eurotunnel enjoys strong rise in profits July 18, 2008 Eurotunnel, the company which operates the Channel tunnel, posted a rise in half-year profits driven by strong growth in passengers using the Eurostar service. Earnings surged to €26m up from €1m the year before, but the company warned that revenue could be hit in the second half of the year due to the faltering economy [...]
High oil price leads Ryanair to cut flights July 18, 2008 Europe’s largest airline Ryanair said yesterday it will cut flights at Stansted by 14 per cent, or 250 flights, this winter because of soaring fuel costs and high airport charges. The Irish carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said the move will see it carry 900,000 fewer passengers and trim its Stansted fleet to 28 planes [...]
Winterflood set to take on the FSA July 18, 2008 Winterflood Securities, the City’s largest small and mid cap stockbroker, is challenging a £4m fine from the Financial Services Authority for market abuse. It is the biggest fine ever imposed on a City firm for market abuse. Winterflood, which has filed an appeal with the independent Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, said it would vigorously [...]
Dawnay firms call in receivers July 18, 2008 Two property companies held by Dawnay Day, the financial services and property conglomerate owned by Guy Nagger and Peter Klimt, have been placed into receivership. It comes as Dawnay Day told its staff this week that redundancies were likely to be made. A spokesman said while job losses are not certain advice has been given [...]
Taxpayers to face £4bn bill for Equitable July 18, 2008 Eight years after the near collapse of Equitable Life and four years after the Parliamentary Ombudsman began an investigation into the insurer, there was finally some hope for the company’s million or so policyholders yesterday. Ann Abraham, the parliamentary ombudsman who led the exhaustive investigation, found the government should apologise to policyholders – some of [...]
American technology giants post mixed earnings figures July 18, 2008 In a busy day in the American technology sector yesterday computer business IBM surged ahead of market expectations, while software maker Microsoft and internet firm Google failed to beat forecasts. IBM said its second-quarter profit leaped 22 per cent to $2.8bn (£1.4bn). It soared past Wall Street’s estimates as its core services division continued to [...]
HBOS backers face £300m losses on rights issue flop July 18, 2008 HBOS’s £4bn cash-call is today expected to be shunned by shareholders – making it one of the biggest ever failed rights issues. Shares in the bank staged a rally yesterday, rising 5 per cent to 268.25p – but despite clawing back some of the ground lost in recent days the stock still closed below the [...]
Fiscal rules to change July 18, 2008 Treasury officials are working on plans to reform Gordon Brown’s fiscal rules to allow for increased borrowing. The move comes as the government comes dangerously close to breaking its rules limiting public sector debt to 40 per cent of national income. Any changes are likely to be announced in the autumn pre-budget report, once the [...]
Oligarchs in fresh bid to force out BP July 18, 2008 Joint venture boss Bob Dudley could be forced to leave Russia due to visa problems Bob Dudley, chief executive of BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP, could be forced out of the country in the next two weeks, it emerged yesterday. In a dramatic escalation of the oil giant’s dispute with its oligarch partners, Russia’s Federal [...]
