Preparing for flawless execution: BT takes on the Olympic challenge December 20, 2011 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 219 DAYS TO GO Gavin Patterson, BT Retail chief executive, explains why his firm is the communication partner at the Games Q. WHAT WAS YOUR BRAND’S PRIMARY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH THE GAMES? A. We went through a rigorous exercise where we looked at what impact it [...]
The Range Rover Sport is refined power December 20, 2011 How can a car be comfortable when you’re off-roading?” asks my incredulous co-driver of the latest 2012 Range Rover Sport, as we ascend a rocky river bed, somewhere on the Roxburghe Estate in the Scottish borders. It’s a good question. We’ve just descended a drop to access the river we’re in, that saw the 2.5-tonne [...]
CAR TALK December 20, 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ SHOWS OFF ITS LATEST ALUMINIUM SL Mercedes-Benz has revealed the new SL ahead of its introduction at the Detroit motor show in January. The new SL is built almost entirely from aluminium, has a rigid all-aluminium body shell to improve agility, and weighs 140kg less than its predecessor. New, more powerful BlueDIRECT engines are [...]
Prudential’s Harvey McGrath to quit December 20, 2011 Harvey McGrath, chairman of Prudential, is to step down next year after bearing the brunt of shareholder criticism over the group’s costly failed bid for Asian rival AIA. “I feel the time is coming when my other commitments deserve more of my time and energy,” McGrath, 59, said in a statement. More than a fifth [...]
Pharmaceuticals drag FTSE down December 20, 2011 Pharmaceuticals pegged the FTSE 100 index back early in trading today after AstraZeneca announced pipeline problems and lowered its earnings per share outlook. AstraZeneca, down 2.8 per cent, said it will take a $381.5m (£244m) pre- tax hit in the fourth quarter. The problems have arisen because a cancer treatment and antidepressant had failed tests. [...]
Retail sales rise as prices slashed December 20, 2011 Retail sales unexpectedly rose at their fastest pace since May in December, as retailers slashed prices to lure in shoppers, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed. The CBI distributive trades survey’s reported sales balance jumped to +9 from -19 in November, the highest since May. Analysts had expected a more modest improvement [...]
Shell hit by Gulf of Mexico oil spill December 20, 2011 The US Coast Guard was investigating a 13,000-gallon spill from an oil rig leased to Shell, operating about 26 miles southeast of last year’s BP Plc Macondo oil well disaster, a Coast Guard spokesman said on Monday. The spill of either drilling fluid or oil mixed with drilling fluid was reported Sunday by Transocean Ltd’s [...]
AstraZeneca hit by double blow to drug pipeline December 20, 2011 AstraZeneca will take a $381.5 million (£24m) pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter following a double blow to its new drug pipeline, Britain’s second-biggest pharmaceuticals company said. Cancer drug olaparib will not progress into final Phase III testing for ovarian cancer due to disappointing results in a mid-stage clinical trial, while the experimental antidepressant TC-5214 [...]
Olympus to raise $1.3bn in new capital December 20, 2011 Olympus Corp is preparing to issue about $1.28bn (£825.22m) in new shares with Japanese high-tech stalwarts Sony and Fujifilm seen as likely buyers as it tries to bolster its depleted finances, the Nikkei business daily reported. The report on the sale, which the Nikkei said could take the form of preferred shares, follows a warning [...]
National Express upbeat as trading hits targets December 20, 2011 British bus and rail operator National Express said that trading remained strong across all its divisions and that it expected to report 2011 results in line with management expectations. “National Express is finishing 2011 in excellent shape. We are growing revenue and profit in all five of our divisions,” chief executive Dean Finch said in [...]
