Tories slip despite fightback March 17, 2010 The Conservatives are one per cent down at 36 per cent in today’s YouGov poll for The Sun, suggesting their attacks on Labour’s “new militant” tendencies and reliance on trade unions has done little to boost them. Labour’s support stays unchanged on 32 per cent while the Lib Dems are up one per cent to [...]
Nike smashes analyst forecasts March 17, 2010 Nike posted a net profit that beat analyst expectations yesterday, fuelled by fewer clearance sales of merchandise and improving sales around the world. The company’s shares jumped more than three per cent after it posted a six per cent gain on a constant currency basis in futures orders – delivery of goods to retailers through [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ITV SET TO ESCAPE RULES BUGBEAR ITV may be close to losing one of its most burdensome regulations after the government said it had powers to intervene in a long-running competition saga under a loophole in the law. City analysts believed the contract rights renewal (CRR) rules were certain to be a drag [...]
Adair Turner calls for limits on speculation March 17, 2010 THE chairman of Britain’s financial watchdog fired a fresh shot across the City’s bows last night, calling for tough limits on financial speculation by bank traders and hedge funds. Arguing for a dramatic break with three decades of conventional wisdom, Lord Turner advocated a tax on financial transactions and said proprietary traders should face strict [...]
Whistleblower should have been protected by Lehmans March 17, 2010 MATTHEW Lee, the man who blew the whistle on controversial accounting techniques at Lehman Brothers, should have been protected by the bank’s code of ethics after notifying management of the “Repo 105” transactions. Lee, who is in his 50s, was laid off from the collapsed bank after calling management’s attention to the transactions, which allowed [...]
BA pledges to run 65pc of flights in spite of strike March 17, 2010 BRITISH Airways said yesterday extra staff will allow it to run 65 per cent of flights during the intended strikes this coming weekend, rather than the 60 per cent it initially forecast. BA said that the number of staff offering to step in as cabin crew has increased. And in response to fears over background [...]
Arriva soars after foreign bid approach March 17, 2010 ARRIVA, the bus and train operator, has received a £1.4bn takeover bid from Deutsche Bahn, the German state-run transport group. Shares in the Sunderland-based company soared yesterday following the news of the 700p per share offer, rising by almost a fifth – their biggest jump for 15 years – eventually closing up 16.8 per cent at [...]
Time right for Anglo-German tie-up March 17, 2010 AS the cliché goes, German trains always arrive on time. For Deutsche Bahn (DB), this deal has pulled into the platform at exactly the right moment. Transport markets across Europe are set for a massive period of liberalisation over the next ten years, after the EU issued a series of directives that will force member [...]
Jobless total falls but so does employment March 17, 2010 THE number of Britons looking for work fell by 33,000 between November and January – but the number in work fell by 54,000 over the same period, official figures showed yesterday. The apparently contradictory findings have come about due to a rise in those classed as “economically inactive” because they are studying, on long-term sick [...]
MPC unanimous on policy at March meeting despite some worries on inflation March 17, 2010 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep monetary policy unchanged this month, but some members noted an increase in upside inflation risks due to the fall in the pound. Minutes of the MPC’s 3-4 March meeting, published yesterday, showed all nine members agreed to keep interest rates at a record low [...]
