Mediation flourishing in downturn June 16, 2009 LORD Woolf reported an intriguing statistic this month when he said that mediation delivered “a £1bn cost-saving” a year for business by diverting cases from the courts. The former Lord Chief Justice added that commercial litigation costs UK Plc £33bn per year. An average case going through the courts costs £1m and consumes three years [...]
Game Group benefits from flight to home entertainment June 16, 2009 VIDEO games retailer Game Group yesterday said its trading since the start of February was in line with company forecasts, thanks to an increase in the number of consumers staying at home in the downturn. “The overall trading performance for the group remains in line with the board’s expectations” the firm said in an update [...]
Premier Inn’s sales tumble June 16, 2009 WHITBREAD, Britain’s biggest hotel operator, yesterday blamed the worst hotel recession in three decades for a sharp fall in first quarter revenues at budget hotel chain Premier Inn. The group said Premier Inn’s like-for-like sales fell by 7.9 per cent, after revenue per available room (Revpar) slumped by 9.6 per cent. Chief executive Alan Parker [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE WORST OF THE DOWNTURN OVER? June 15, 2009 DANIEL OLLIVER LIFE ASSURANCE“I think we are coming out of the downturn, but that recovery will be slow. Everyone is nervous about saying we’re coming out of the slump, as they don’t want to be seen overreacting to a market blip.” DOUGLAS CHU NYSE EURONET“The institutional credit market still isn’t working, and until it does [...]
Premier League issues warning to Setanta over rights payments June 15, 2009 THE Premier League warned yesterday that it will put the rights held by troubled broadcaster Setanta back up for sale if the Irish group does not pay its next instalment due on Friday. The Premier League said that it would terminate the existing agreement “if Setanta does not meet certain contractual requirements of the Premier [...]
AIG is at war with ex-chief June 15, 2009 AIG began a legal fight with former boss Maurice Greenberg in a New York federal court yesterday, in a bitter fight over disputed assets worth $4.3bn (£2.6bn). Greenberg, chairman of privately-held Starr International, is accused by AIG of snatching the assets unlawfully in 2005. He is due to take the stand to testify this week. [...]
Hedge funds back on track, says report June 15, 2009 HEDGE funds are once again performing favourably now that outflows have stabilised, according to a report. In its latest investment outlook, Swedish financial group SEB says that the hedge fund industry is over the worst, following its toughest year on record in 2008. The report predicts that strong hedge funds will be able to strengthen [...]
IMF boss says further pain may lie ahead June 15, 2009 DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has spoken out after recent reports of “green shoots”, warning the worst of the global financial crisis may not yet be behind us. Speaking on a visit to Kazakhstan, he said the IMF needed to be cautious about calling an economic recovery, although he said [...]
Aquascutum thrown lifeline June 15, 2009 Struggling luxury fashion brand Aquascutum has been thrown a lifeline by Crombie chairman Alan Lewis. Lewis is believed to be early talks with Japanese owner, Renown, to acquire the label’s UK business including its manufacturing operation after an attempted management buyout collapsed. The move will offer hope to the group’s 340 staff, including 120 factory [...]
Deripaska appoints GM chief June 15, 2009 Russian indebted carmaker GAZ said yesterday it had invited a former General Motors executive to head its board of directors. The group, owned by tycoon Oleg Deripaska, said former purchasing chief Bo Andersson had expressed his agreement to take the post. GAZ, along with Russia’s largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is [...]
