When work becomes a religious experience June 30, 2010 THE WAY WE’RE WORKING ISN’T WORKING BY TONY SCHWARTZ, JEAN GOMES AND CATHERINE MCCARTHY, £12.99 THE title might sounds a bit like the election poster from 1979 that proclaimed “Britain isn’t working”, but this book is American through and through. It reached number two on the New York Times Best Sellers List, which suggests that [...]
Costain posts performance in line with expectations with a strong order book June 30, 2010 ENGINEERING group Costain said its trading is line with expectations in an update yesterday, and that the firm has made a significant number of new contracts since the start of the year. The firm said it has a forward order book of £2.5bn, with around £1bn worth of work secured for 2010. The group also [...]
URS wins battle for Scott Wilson as trumps CH2M with a £223m offer June 30, 2010 ENGINEERING giant URS said yesterday it was offering 290p in cash for each Scott Wilson share, 18 per cent higher than Tuesday’s bid of 245p from Colorado-headquartered CH2M and 38 per cent above its original offer of 210p on Monday. The move, valuing the company at approximately £223m, ends a bidding war for Basingstoke-based Scott [...]
Pensions Regulator’s first notice June 30, 2010 The Pensions Regulator has issued its first contribution notice against a European company, ordering Belgium-based weaving machine maker Michel Van De Wiele (VDW) to make good a gap in the pension scheme of a UK subsidiary it claimed had been liquidated to avoid maintaining the fund. The group tried to dodge its liability by putting [...]
The book that’s got men cracked June 30, 2010 EXTRACT WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING? ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU’VE EVER ASKED ABOUT MEN ANSWERED BY ZOE STRIMPEL FIG TREE, £8.99 WHY DOES HE BOTHER WITH GRAND GESTURES, THEN FAIL TO FOLLOW THROUGH? EVERY girl, no matter how independent and cynical, wants to be swept off her feet. Dear God, I’m putty in the [...]
WTO slams EU aid for Airbus June 30, 2010 The World Trade Organisation judges gave the European Union a stinging rebuke yesterday, saying the EU must axe prohibited export subsidies to plane-maker Airbus which had injured US rival Boeing. The WTO panel concluded Airbus had been able to launch a series of passenger jets only thanks to subsidies from the EU and member states [...]
Tesco’s accounting methods in spolight June 30, 2010 TESCO yesterday saw its shares dip after Citigroup accused it of “consistently aggressive” accounting. Britain’s biggest grocery chain is using a different method from its rivals on everything from depreciation to pensions, an analyst claimed. Citigroup’s Alastair Johnston said: “If we put Tesco on more comparable accounting to other companies in our sector, it appears [...]
Cineworld revenues increase despite the World Cup finals June 30, 2010 BRITISH cinema chain Cineworld believes new 3D films from popular franchises like Shrek, Toy Story and Harry Potter will help it attract audiences after a downturn triggered by the World Cup. Cineworld, which runs 78 mainly multiplex cinemas, said revenues rose 3.7 per cent in the first half of its financial year, even though the [...]
HMV looks forward to happy Christmas after profits pick up June 30, 2010 HMV met forecasts with an 18 per cent rise in yearly profit and said its plan to transform the business into an entertainment brand was working. The music, games and DVD group, which runs over 400 stores under its own name as well as 314 Waterstone’s bookstores, made an underlying pretax profit of £74.2m for [...]
Kraft veteran joins Premier June 30, 2010 Premier Foods has appointed former Kraft executive Ronnie Bell to become its new chairman. Bell, who spent 30-years at the US group, replaces David Kappler, who has been chairman since 2004. Bell is currently a non-executive board member at Northern Foods, but will step down to take up the Premier role in October. Charles Miller [...]
