Flight Options out of business August 17, 2010 Budget travel firm Flight Options ceased trading last night, affecting more than 70,000 holidaymakers who had trips booked with the firm. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that approximately 13,000 Britons abroad through the company, mostly through its biggest flight operator Kiss Flights, will get home as normal. Those with Flight Options bookings up to [...]
Banks and miners push FTSE to its highest close in a week August 17, 2010 FINANCIAL stocks and commodity companies pushed Britain’s top share index up for a third session by the close on Tuesday, as fears about a global economic slowdown abated and raw material prices gained. The FTSE 100 ended up 74.45 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,350.55, its highest close in a week. Miners were firmer, [...]
US results season ends on a high note August 17, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after earnings from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and a $39bn takeover bid in the agriculture sector bolstered confidence in the corporate outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 103.84 points, or 1.01 per cent, at 10,405.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 13.16 points, or 1.22 per cent, [...]
Cowdery eyes third project as profits leap August 17, 2010 ENTREPRENEUR Clive Cowdery has begun sounding out potential sellers of assets for a third consolidation project after Resolution beat expectations with a £139m first-half profit. Cowdery, who banked a fortune of millions of pounds from the first incarnation of his insurance buyout vehicle, has held talks with both open and closed life companies in the [...]
RESOLUTION August 17, 2010 WHEN it comes to insurance, size matters and that’s the strategy Resolution is betting the farm on. After buying two insurers – Friends Provident and most of Axa’s UK life operations – it is clear that it’s now hunting down its next prey. The question for investors is whether Resolution, founded by insurance entrepreneur Clive [...]
Builders miss out on £6bn of school projects August 17, 2010 BUILDERS have already lost out on more than £5.7bn worth of work after Britain slashed investment in new schools and Balfour Beatty is most exposed to the cutbacks, Reuters research shows. A survey of the 26 local authorities worst hit by a decision to freeze the last government’s £55bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) [...]
GM set to go ahead with a $20bn float August 17, 2010 GENERAL?Motors (GM) is poised to press ahead with one of the biggest ever IPOs, raising an estimated $20bn (£12.8bn). The momentous flotation of one of the most recognisable US firms will see the government begin to loosen its grip on the troubled carmaker. The initial prospectus was filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, [...]
Rok’s accounting woes halve profits August 17, 2010 ROK, the troubled building and maintenance group, posted a 50 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profit and cut its dividend yesterday. The Exeter-based firm issued its second profit warning in four months last week after saying it had discovered “serious mismanagement” of contracts in its plumbing, heating and electrical business. The firm, one of [...]
New contract wins enable Mears to raise its dividend August 17, 2010 Mears Group, the social housing maintenance company, posted a 42 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit to £13.2m on the back of new contract wins. The Gloucester-based firm said yesterday it booked a significant amount of new business from local councils during the past 12 months. The new wins include a £200m contract with [...]
Asda warns of shopper misery as sales drop August 17, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Asda said yesterday shoppers were being hit in the pocket by government cuts as like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 0.4 per cent in the second quarter. The chain said its market share had reduced in the 12 weeks to 11 July as total sales crept up “in the low single digits”. Chief executive [...]
