Google facing blocks in China March 30, 2010 google searches in China have been blocked following its decision to shut the country’s mainland portal. For the past two days services have become unpredictable and searches have often resulted in error messages and blank pages being returned. It is not proven that this is a result of the Chinese Government but Google’s decision to [...]
Aer Lingus revenues drop as it begins to slash costs March 30, 2010 AER Lingus saw a double-digit drop in revenue last year after the Irish airline felt the bite of the global recession. The Dublin based company saw revenue for the year ending 31 December fall by 11 per cent to €1.2bn (£1bn). Aer Lingus also posted an operating loss of €93m during the first half of [...]
February airline traffic surges in hint of recovery March 30, 2010 AIRLINE passenger traffic climbed by 9.5 per cent during the month of February, according to new data by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA warned that the number is slightly inflated because 2009 figures represent the bottom of the recession. “This is not a full recovery. The task ahead is to adjust to two [...]
Strong start for Domino’s March 30, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pizza delivery chain Domino’s has reported a strong start to 2010 despite bad weather in the early part of the year. The company, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global home delivery brand, said sales at its 553 stores open for more than a year were up 10.5 per cent [...]
Babcock is boosted by MoD deal March 30, 2010 DEFENCE services group Babcock International yesterday said a recently agreed contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would boost the value of its order book by 40 per cent and that second half trade had been strong. “Following the agreement with the MoD, the group’s order book will be increased by about £2.5bn to around £8.5bn,” [...]
Mouchel hit by Middle East strife March 30, 2010 BUSINESS services group Mouchel posted a 28 per cent fall in first-half profit yesterday, hit by the downturn in the Middle East and uncertainty on public sector contract awards ahead of the general election. Mouchel, which maintains highways, monitors the cleanliness of the drinking water and manages local government IT systems, yesterday reported a pre-tax [...]
Axa agrees £9bn takeover plan from NAB March 30, 2010 FRANCE’S AXA SA accepted a A$14bn (£8.5bn) takeover plan from National Australia Bank for its AXA Asia Pacific unit yesterday, moving closer to end a four-month takeover tussle. With AXA SA finally on NAB’s side, all eyes will now be on whether the competition watchdog approves Australia’s second-largest financial services deal, almost two months after [...]
Cranswick sales sizzling March 30, 2010 BRITISH pork supplier Cranswick said it expected full-year results at the upper end of market forecasts, helped by higher sales of bacon and a recent acquisition. The company, which supplies fresh pork and gourmet sausages to Britain’s food retailing and manufacturing sectors, said total sales rose 22 per cent for the year ending 31 March, [...]
StanChart to raise £500m in India listing March 30, 2010 Standard Chartered will raise up to $750m (£500m) in an audacious Indian listing. It plans to issue Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) – rupee-denominated certificates showing ownership of shares in Standard Chartered – the first such offering in Asia’s third-largest economy. It filed a draught prospectus with Indian regulators yesterday and hopes to complete the listing [...]
Miners cheer at prospect of higher prices March 30, 2010 ANNUAL iron ore fixed-price deals look to be teetering on the edge of extinction following BHP Billiton and Vale’s completion of a shorter quarterly contract with Asian steelmakers. The quarterly contracts were settled at $110-$120 (£72-79) a tonne next quarter, a substantial increase from the 2009-10 annual contracts, which were settled at around $60. Steelmakers [...]
