Fears of chaos as ash cloud hits Scotland May 23, 2011 FEARS OF a repeat of last summer’s mass flight disruption were fuelled yesterday as airlines began cancelling flights in and out of Scotland in the wake of the volcanic ash cloud blowing in from Iceland. BA, KLM, Easyjet, Flybe, Aer Lingus, Loganair and Eastern Airways have all cancelled services for today as the Met Office [...]
Glencore to join FTSE 100 in full trading launch May 23, 2011 COMMODITIES giant Glencore will claim its place in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index as it begins full market trading on the London Stock Exchange today. Glencore is expected to join the FTSE 100 immediately due to its more than £30bn market value, pushingsoftware maker Invensys into the FTSE 250. But in signs that investors may [...]
CHELSEA CHARMS THE CITY May 23, 2011 THE Queen was presented with a rare orchid named in her honour yesterday as this year’s Chelsea Flower Show 2011 opened with several well-known City players braving the strong winds for the annual gala preview. Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw, Marks & Spencer chair Robert Swannell, Lloyds chairman Sir Win Bischoff, newly appointed Tesco chair Sir [...]
Cable attacks lenders over Merlin target May 23, 2011 BANKS endured a hail of criticism yesterday as official figures confirmed that businesses did not request as much credit as the Treasury was hoping for under the Merlin deal struck with banks in February. Data published yesterday show that there was demand for £47.3bn in credit facilities in the first-quarter covered by the Merlin agreement. [...]
Don’t blame banks for low demand May 23, 2011 VINCE Cable was grand-standing on his favourite topic yesterday: the ills of British banks. But there was more sound than sense in his warning that lenders had better “meet the commitments they agreed” – or else. That’s because the five Merlin banks have so far done exactly as promised. They have collectively set aside £190bn [...]
BANKS’ LENDING AGREEMENTS May 23, 2011 Q. WHAT DID THE BANKS COMMIT TO? A. Under the terms of “project Merlin”, a deal with the Treasury aimed at reviving lenders’ image, five banks – RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Santander UK – agreed to make £190bn in credit available to businesses this year, versus £179bn in 2010. They earmarked £76bn of this [...]
Broughton bid of £230m puts him in the lead May 23, 2011 SIR Martin Broughton, the deputy chairman of airline IAG, yesterday pulled further ahead in the race to buy the Tote, after it emerged his bid values the state-owned betting pool at £230m. The development puts further distance between his offer and the £200m- valued bid being wagered by high street bookmaker Betfred. Sir Martin’s Sports [...]
MPs condemn Rosenfeld’s Cadbury snub May 23, 2011 MPs condemned Kraft’s chief executive Irene Rosenfeld (pictured) in the strongest language yet yesterday for refusing to give evidence about the firm’s £11.5bn acquisition of Cadbury. Kraft’s third refusal for Rosenfeld to meet MPs either in person or via a videoconference “fell short of an explicit contempt of the House, but not by much”, the [...]
Mexico to challenge Lagarde for IMF job May 23, 2011 FRENCH finance minister Christine Lagarde’s candidacy for IMF chief is gaining momentum in Europe, while Mexico has put forward its own candidate, ensuring competition for the top job. The Mexican finance ministry said it would nominate central bank chief Agustin Carstens, placing a prominent emerging market name into the race to lead the global lender. [...]
LinkedIn shares fall 5pc raising fears firm’s value is over-inflated May 23, 2011 LINKEDIN slumped almost 10 per cent during trading yesterday before closing five per cent lower at $88.30, sparking fears the initial rush on its shares may have over-inflated the firm’s value. The low-point of $84 a share was still far higher than its IPO price of $45 a share but a big slip from the [...]
