Stelios rants as Michels exits easyJet May 23, 2011 SIR DAVID Michels, the former Hilton chief executive who once hoped to chair Marks & Spencer, said he would step down from the board of easyJet yesterday in his second such announcement in a month. Michels, easyJet’s deputy chairman, will leave the airline at the end of this year, when he completes his second three-year [...]
Capacity cuts could be end of good times May 23, 2011 FOR the first time in its 25 year history, Ryanair is cutting capacity. When winter 2011 rolls round the discount airline plans to ground 80 of its fleet including 50 new deliveries – even if the UK experiences an Indian summer that lasts until next February. A winter pullback on capacity is not unusual, but [...]
Commerzbank shares hit after discounted issue May 23, 2011 SHARES of German lender Commerzbank dropped as much as 5.6 per cent in early trading yesterday after the firm priced the sale of around 2.4bn shares at a steep discount to their market value. The sale will raise around €5.3bn (£4.6bn) and is a step in Commerzbank’s previously-announced plan to repay €14.3bn of state aid. [...]
Tax hit means Sony will post losses of £2bn May 23, 2011 SONY will this week unveil its second-largest after-tax loss as it struggles to overcome the Japanese earthquake, intense competition and a massive security breach. It is expected to post a loss of 260bn yen (£2bn) after being hit by a charge related to Japanese tax credits. The firm, which previously forecast a net profit of [...]
Profit strong at Campbell Soup despite sales slump May 23, 2011 CAMPBELL Soup yesterday reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast full-year results at the high end of its range, after moving its focus from profit-sapping promotions to advertisements. But the world’s top soup maker saw US sales fall for the fourth straight quarter, a sign that it may take some time for operations chief Denise [...]
Revenue jump helps lift Krispy Kreme shares May 23, 2011 KRISPY Kreme Doughnuts yesterday reported its highest quarterly profit in more than seven years, beating analysts’ estimates. The company also gave positive guidance about meeting the upper end of its forecast range, sending its shares up 19 per cent. The doughnut chain, which competes with Dunkin’ Donuts, backed its fiscal 2012 operating income forecast of [...]
Nationalised banks lending less to the UK May 23, 2011 NATIONALISATION of banks outside the UK has resulted in greater “financial protectionism”, the Bank of England said yesterday. Banks taken over by the state charge higher rates to foreigners and lend less across international borders, the Bank’s report found. Yet UK banks supported by the government following the credit crunch have not succumbed to such [...]
China and Euro in slowdown May 23, 2011 ECONOMIC activity has slowed in the Eurozone and China, two “flash” surveys revealed yesterday. China’s factories expanded at their slowest pace in 10 months in May, with a purchasing managers’ index (PMI) easing to 51.1 from 51.8 in April. Eurozone area business output, meanwhile, slowed considerably this month, down from 57.8 to 55.4 in a [...]
Interest rates on personal loans reach a 10-year high May 23, 2011 THE AVERAGE rate of interest on a personal loan has rocketed to a ten-year high, the Moneyfacts website revealed yesterday. A loan of £5,000 costs an average of 12.7 per cent, its research has found. “In a market where household finances are being stretched the risk of customers not repaying the loan increases and this [...]
NOWOTNY: EUROZONE RECOVERY IS ON TRACK May 23, 2011 RECOVERY in the Eurozone is on a “sustainable path,” European Central Bank (ECB) official Ewald Nowotny said yesterday. “One cannot exclude the possibility of a slowdown in recovery, but I think that the risks of an L-shaped or W-shaped development have clearly decreased,” the ECB governing council member said.
