CHILL OUT FOR PRINCE ON POLAR MISSION March 30, 2011 COLD comfort for Prince Harry, who has arrived at Base Camp at Svalbard in Norway to join the Walking for Wounded team before they set off for the North Pole tomorrow on April Fool’s Day. But Harry’s training regime under expedition leader Inge Solheim is no joke – on Wednesday he spent the day cross-country [...]
Leon Black sees Apollo lose value on first day March 30, 2011 APOLLO boss Leon Black, who founded the private equity giant in 1990, is a man well used to the trials and tribulations of company stocks. During the financial crisis his personal fortune is believed to have plunged from $4bn (£2.5bn) to $1bn as shares in Apollo and other investments rode stormy waters. Bearing this in [...]
European venture capital funds more than double March 30, 2011 MORE than double the number of European-focused venture capital funds are raising capital this year than last year, research firm Preqin has said. There are now a total of 89 funds, looking to raise $13.8bn (£8.6bn). Last year, 34 European-focused venture funds closed on $5.8bn, Preqin found. Meanwhile, strong equity markets saw fund sales hit [...]
Co-operative profit jumps after merger March 30, 2011 CO-OPERATIVE Financial Services saw pre-tax profit rise 5.5 per cent last year to £53.3m, with the bank attributing a steep drop in costs to synergies after its 2009 merger with Britannia. But earnings were dented by a sharp rise in claims due to weather-related chaos early last year, with the bank estimating a claims cost [...]
Lloyds lures Horta-Osorio with £13.5m pay package March 30, 2011 THE cost of wooing new chief executive António Horta-Osório to Lloyds Banking Group was unveiled yesterday as its annual report revealed his total package was worth up to £13.5m. His annual salary is £1.06m, increased from predecessor Eric Daniel’s £1.03m outgoing salary to reflect market rates. An additional sum worth up to three quarters of [...]
Diamond: Banking transition will sort the wheat from the chaff March 30, 2011 BARCLAYS chief executive Bob Diamond has warned that many banks will not survive the transition to “the new environment” of higher capital and liquidity requirements. Speaking at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley, Diamond also said that Barclays is “at an advanced planning stage” with its “living will” or resolution plan, in cooperation with several [...]
BAA must sell two airports March 30, 2011 THE Competition Commission yesterday again ruled that BAA should sell Stansted and either its Edinburgh or Glasgow airports, in a decision that is sure to spark a bidding war for the airports. The decision backs one made in March 2009 which BAA successfully appealed on a technicality, but the court of appeal yesterday reinstated its [...]
Losses at Qantas as routes and jobs go March 30, 2011 RISING fuel prices and a string of natural disasters that resulted in $140m (£87.2m) in losses have forced Australia’s Qantas Airways to cut back on capacity and management. The airline’s statement came after Brent crude futures for May delivery rose 36 cents to settle at $115.16 yesterday as expectations for a quick restoration of Libyan [...]
Firms cool over coalition’s plans for UK aviation March 30, 2011 BUSINESSES were yesterday unenthusiastic about government proposals on the future of aviation in the UK, which reiterated the coalition’s opposition to any airport expansion whatsoever. The document offered several possibilities for improving aviation in the UK, such as making better use of the country’s existing airport capacity. But David Frost, director general of the British [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD BAA BE FORCED TO SELL TWO AIRPORTS? March 30, 2011 Save or Borrow peer to peer at RateSetter.com MIKE MEDLEY | LINEDATA “BAA shouldn’t have to sell because it should have to improve Heathrow first and then sort out the problems with the other airports.” RICHARD LEY | INCISIVE MEDIA “Terminal Five is great, but the others are difficult to get to and confusing. It’s [...]
