Setback for UBS whistleblower January 4, 2010 A US judge yesterday rejected a request to consider reducing the prison sentence of a whistleblower in the tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS. Bradley Birkenfeld’s lawyers had appealed for a postponement of his jail sentence, saying that he has more information on tax cheating to offer. They also appealed for a reduction of [...]
EasyJet announces raft of new European routes January 4, 2010 BUDGET airline easyJet yesterday announced plans to boost expansion of its European network in 2010 and said there were more routes to come. The Luton-based carrier said it was adding 21 routes to its expansion programme in the coming year, taking the total number of routes it plans to launch in 2010 to 70. The [...]
HMV poised for Mama takeover January 4, 2010 HMV is poised for a successful £46m takeover of music venues and festivals firm Mama Group after a rival offer hit the buffers. Mama’s largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based investment firm SMS Finance, made a £38.3m bid for the business last month. SMS – the investment vehicle of Italian telecoms billionaire Silvio Scaglia – owns 29.8 per [...]
Private pensions system is facing crisis as final salary schemes are scrapped January 4, 2010 THE private pensions system is in crisis with virtually all final salary schemes now closed to new entrants, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). A survey of 309 employers published by the ACA showed that nine out of 10 defined benefit schemes have shut the door on new employees. The data also showed [...]
Japan Airlines soars on hopes of rescue funding January 4, 2010 JAPAN Airlines’ shares jumped 31 per cent yesterday as the government looked to secure funds to prevent the carrier from running out of cash as it awaits a possible bailout. The stock lost a quarter of its value last Wednesday, the last trading day of 2009, after sources said a government-backed turnaround fund was leaning [...]
OFT attacks Ryanair over fee loopholes January 4, 2010 BUDGET airline Ryanair has been branded “puerile and childish” for using a legal loophole to hit online customers with an extra credit card charge. Office of Fair Trading (OFT) chief executive John Fingleton yesterday attacked the company for hitting customers with a £5 booking fee for using all but one credit card. The fee has [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 4, 2010 CARNIVAL Cruise operator Carnival’s full year results were ahead of market expectations and Charles Stanley expects yields to continue to recover with the US economy in 2010. It believes cruising remains a structural growth industry with good prospects for growth in Europe and Asia. Booking and occupancy levels remain strong, it said. J SAINSBURY Shore [...]
RBS £53m Pakistan unit sale collapses January 4, 2010 THE £53m sale of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Pakistan unit to Muslim Commercial Bank has fallen through, the beleaguered bank confirmed yesterday. The bank, which is 84 per cent owned by the taxpayer, said the deal had collapsed because it had not obtained the necessary regulatory approvals by the 31 December deadline. MCB announced on [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 4, 2010 Coutts & Co The private bank has appointed Maggie Bradley as a client partner for its Oxford office, focusing on the local entrepreneur, professional and executive markets. Bradley joins from Coutts’ head office in London, where she has worked for the past five years, latterly as a business partner for international clients. Prior to that, [...]
PADDED BRA MAGNATE IS TOP WOMAN IN BUSINESS January 4, 2010 PLENTY of lists of the most powerful women in business are published each year now that we ladies have (almost) succeeded in cracking that glass ceiling, so The Capitalist was somewhat surprised by the novel value of the latest addition to the pack. A sneak peek at ladies’ magazine Glamour’s upcoming list of the five [...]
