Volcanic ash to disrupt Ireland May 3, 2010 VOLCANIC ash from Iceland is set to cause more havoc today, with flight cancellations in Ireland and Scotland. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said Irish airspace will close from 7am today, with the decision reviewed at 1pm. Over-flights of Ireland from the UK and Europe will not be impacted, the IAA said, adding flights in [...]
US airlines took $8bn extra fees May 3, 2010 THE US airline industry raked in nearly $8bn (£5.2bn) from fees last year, according to a government report. Revenue from so-called ancillary fees totalled $7.8bn in 2009, according to the US Department of Transportation. The figure is 40 per cent up from 2008, when ancillary fees totalled $5.5bn. The tally does not include air fares, [...]
Fall in sterling could derail UK’s recovery May 3, 2010 A COLLAPSE in the value of sterling in the wake of the general election would push inflation even higher and could even risk derailing the economic recovery if the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is forced to tighten policy too soon, a top City consultancy will say today. While policymakers have welcomed a weaker sterling because [...]
WHAT IMPACT WILL THE ELECTION HAVE ON STERLING AND GILTS? May 3, 2010 TREVOR WILLIAMS | LLOYDS TSB “On average, the pound tends to strengthen after general elections, regardless of the size of the majority. As it fell about four per cent in the past quarter, history suggests we could see a short-term recovery. For gilts and swaps, there could be short-term volatility if there is political uncertainty [...]
Glencore sees Xstrata tie-up May 3, 2010 SWISS mining and commodities trading powerhouse Glencore is working on a £55bn merger with Xstrata, the London and Geneva-listed metal extraction giant. Advisers to Glencore are understood to be drawing up plans for the privately-held company to join the public arena through a reverse takeover of Xstrata. Glencore, which already owns 34.4 per cent of [...]
Greedy Greece may have gulped all euro help May 3, 2010 CRISIS averted? For now, troubled Greece has been saved – but at what cost? The sums involved are staggering and could have been much lower if the Eurozone’s governments had appreciated the size and scale of the problem earlier and learned the lessons of history. By waiting for the 11th hour to agree a rescue [...]
Bankrupt Canwest sells off its TV operations and newspapers May 3, 2010 SHAW Communications said yesterday it reached a deal with Canwest Global Communication’s debtholders to acquire the television operations of the bankrupt Canadian media company for $2bn (£1.3bn) including assumed debt. Shaw reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs and other senior subordinated noteholders allowing it to acquire all of the shares of a restructured Canwest upon [...]
Madoff fund to get large boost May 3, 2010 BILLIONS of dollars will soon be added to the money recovered by the trustee leading the global search for assets from convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s fraud, according to a court document filed yesterday. The document indicated the heirs and trusts of late investor and philanthropist Jeffry Picower, a longtime friend of Madoff who was found [...]
IPAD SMASHES SALES EXPECTATIONS May 3, 2010 Apple’s iPad has surpassed all expectations by shifting more than 1m units in just 28 days. The sales dwarf that of its revolutionary iPhone, which took 74 days to reach the same milestone. Apple began the second stage of a two-part roll-out of the iPad last week when it started selling the pricier, high-speed wireless [...]
China’s banks hit as reserve ratio is hiked May 3, 2010 CHINESE shares yesterday dipped on global markets after the country upped the proportion of deposits lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, in a move to rein in inflation and mop up excess liquidity. China yesterday said it would lift lenders’ reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points from 10 May, the third [...]
