EU launches air passenger law overhaul April 11, 2011 THE EUROPEAN Union yesterday laid out plans to shake up airline passenger compensation laws, after carriers faced massive bills from the Icelandic ash cloud and snow storms. The EU will discuss wide-reaching changes with aviation stakeholders and present a new law in 2012, European Commission vice-president Siim Kallas said yesterday. The review of Regulation 261 [...]
BP partners cause chaos April 11, 2011 THE CHAIRMAN of Rosneft stepped down yesterday, creating further uncertainty for BP and its plans for a £10bn share swap and exploration deal with the Russian state-owned oil giant. Igor Sechin, who is also Russia’s deputy prime minister, announced his resignation at a shareholder meeting yesterday as part of a country-wide removal of politicians from [...]
IMF lowers its forecast for UK growth in 2011 April 11, 2011 THE UK economy will expand by just 1.75 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted – down sharply from January’s forecast of 2.1 per cent. Growth is still expected to spring up to 2.3 per cent the following year, according to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, released yesterday. The forecast [...]
UK high street sales drop at record rate April 11, 2011 SPENDING on the UK high street plummeted at a record rate last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said today. The year-on-year drop was partly due to the Easter holidays switching to April this year, which delayed a traditional boost in spending. “This year’s later Easter is a factor but this fall goes way beyond [...]
RENAULT’S PELATA QUITS FOLLOWING SPY CASE April 11, 2011 RENAULT’S chief operating officer Patrick Pelata resigned yesterday, as the French car maker tried to put the probe into suspected industrial espionage case behind it. Renault fired three executives in January, saying its high-profile electric vehicle project had been targeted by an international spy network, but later had to admit it was tricked, the men [...]
Alcoa profit tops forecasts April 11, 2011 US aluminium giant Alcoa reported first-quarter net earnings of $308m (£188m) that beat estimates last night, as the price of its main product rose sharply and demand for the metal grew. However, its shares fell 3.5 per cent in after-hours trading as its sales figures missed expectations, despite revenues rising 22 per cent on last [...]
Twins must accept Facebook deal April 11, 2011 Mark Zuckerberg yesterday won a legal battle against former Harvard classmates who accuse him of stealing their idea for Facebook. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss must accept a cash and stock settlement with Facebook valued at $65m, a US appeals court ruled yesterday. The Winklevoss brothers argued their settlement with Facebook was unfair because the company [...]
CPP rocked as Barclaycard suspends deal April 11, 2011 CREDIT card insurer CPP suffered a fresh blow yesterday after it revealed Barclaycard has decided to stop using its services, which are currently under scrutiny from the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Shares in the firm plummeted 14 per cent to 129p after Barclaycard put on hold the use of its “call to confirm” service, used [...]
Scrapped share offers this year have hit $25bn April 11, 2011 THE TOTAL value of pulled equity market deals worldwide has reached $24.5bn (£14.9bn) so far this year, as firms struggle to raise capital amid volatile market conditions. Almost 100 initial public offerings (IPOs) and share placements have been withdrawn or postponed so far this year, according to data provider Dealogic. European listings have particularly struggled, [...]
Tyco shares bounce on talk of takeover April 11, 2011 SHARES in US industrial conglomerate Tyco International received a boost yesterday after news of bid interest from Schneider Electric. Schneider, which works with British Airways and public sector bodies on energy efficiency projects, is thought to have hired bankers to examine Tyco ahead of a possible takeover offer, although the plan is at an early [...]
