Compass buys Southeast Service Corp for £45m June 8, 2010 COMPASS Group yesterday continued its acquisitive streak, snapping up Southeast Service Corporation (SSC) in the US. The global catering firm will hand over £45m for SSC, a “soft service” support firm for business and education with a turnover of £106m. Compass chief executive Richard Cousins said: “Building on the success of our significant education food-service [...]
McDonalds warns euro will hurt full-year profits June 8, 2010 MCDONALDS reported a stronger-than-expected 4.8 per cent rise in worldwide May sales at established restaurants yesterday, but warned it expects a weak euro to take a bite out of its full-year profits. Roughly a quarter of McDonald’s consolidated operating income originates in countries that use the euro currency, the world’s biggest hamburger chain said yesterday. [...]
HONDA STRIKES AGAIN June 8, 2010 A NEW strike has broken out at a factory making exhaust systems for one of Honda Motor’s China joint ventures, Honda said yesterday, just days after the settlement of a strike at another Honda supplier in China. Some workers at the factory, a joint venture between Yutaka Giken, which is 70 per cent owned by [...]
The car that delicately sips its fuel June 8, 2010 IF YOU’RE the kind of driver that gets their kicks out of economy and efficiency and can’t wait for the advancing wave of super economical electric vehicles to get here, then Volvo’s C30 1.6D DRIVe could be the car for you. The coolest thing about Volvo’s C30 DRIVe Start/Stop model is undoubtedly reading the LED [...]
OUT OF OFFICE June 8, 2010 LOTUS ART POP UP SHOP Bespoke luxury service Couturelab is to host a pop-up store for high-end Thai brand Lotus Arts de Vivre, a rare opportunity to purchase one-off pieces. Founded by a Bangkok-based family, Lotus Art de Vivre is known for its striking creations of rare and exquisite jewellery, accessories and home décor pieces [...]
Pru boss: I have (a few) regrets June 7, 2010 PRUDENTIAL chief Tidjane Thiam expressed regret over his botched attempt to buy AIA yesterday, at a fractious meeting punctuated by calls for a boardroom shake-up. Thiam, fighting for his career after Prudential was embarrassingly forced to pull out of a $35.5bn (£25bn) bid for AIG’s Far Eastern arm, stopped short of saying sorry. But chairman [...]
BP hopes to double oil captured June 7, 2010 EMBATTLED oil major BP could soon siphon off up to 20,000 barrels a day from its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico – twice the amount it is currently collecting. US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is leading the operation for the American government, said that BP could contain twice as much oil [...]
Cameron gets ready for cuts June 7, 2010 INTEREST payments on Britain’s huge debt pile will surge to £70bn in the next five years unless public spending is slashed, the Prime Minister warned yesterday. David Cameron made the shock revelation as he sought to win public backing for the toughest spending cuts in a generation. He was quoting from previously unpublished Treasury figures [...]
An intriguing plan to reform banking June 7, 2010 IF you leave your suit at a dry-cleaner, you retain ownership of the garment, even though possession has passed (temporarily) to the shop. But if you deposit £1,000 in a bank account, who owns the money? It’s still yours, held in trust by the bank, just as with the dry cleaner, right? Wrong. Ever since [...]
Markets fall on debt fears June 7, 2010 US STOCKS fell yesterday after strong German manufacturing data failed to restore investor confidence. And the euro slid to a new four year low below $1.19, while gold prices rose to just $10 below their all-time high. There is concern the US recovery is slowing, Europe’s economies are too indebted and even China’s boom may [...]
