Industrial output in shock jump May 11, 2010 INDUSTRIAL output in Britain jumped six times faster than expected in March – its strongest monthly growth in almost eight years. Output increased by 2 per cent compared with February, its fastest monthly rise since July 2002. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the data would add 0.1 percentage points to its estimate [...]
Aviva sales drop as US market falls away May 11, 2010 AVIVA suffered a five per cent drop in life and pensions sales in the first quarter – but the results were above analysts’ forecasts The figures showed that a recovery in the domestic insurance market was offset by a sales of 18 per cent in the struggling US market. Llfe and pensions sales in the [...]
EasyJet cuts profit forecast after ash cloud chaos May 11, 2010 EasyJet has cut its expectations for full-year profit after the mayhem caused by the volcanic ash crisis, though it posted a smaller-than-expected first-half as fuel prices fell. The airline, the biggest carrier at Gatwick airport, said its pre-tax loss narrowed by a third to £78.7m on revenues 13 per cent higher at £1.17m for the [...]
Babcock profits jump after VT group deal May 11, 2010 DEFENCE company Babcock has reported a 21 per cent rise in pre-tax profit after agreeing to buy rival VT Group for £1.5bn. Babcock’s profit was £129.2m in the year to the end of March while the company said it had a £8.3bn order book. The firm said the strong performance of its marine division had [...]
Brown’s endgame May 10, 2010 POLITICAL EDITOR ■ Prime Minister will stand aside in last-ditch bid to convince Lib Dems to share power with Labour ■ Tories table counter-offer and say they will include referendum on alternative vote system to woo Liberals GORDON BROWN finally loosened his grip on power yesterday, announcing his resignation as Labour leader in a last-ditch [...]
Tribalism replaced values May 10, 2010 THE story of why Gordon Brown entered politics is well-known, not least because he often tells it himself. Son of a Church of Scotland minister, he was brought up with a protestant work ethic guided by a “moral compass”. An extremely bright pupil, he was fast-tracked through school and went to the University of Edinburgh [...]
Why a rainbow coalition falls short May 10, 2010 HOW chaotic – but how predictable. All those warnings about the consequences of a hung parliament, including in this newspaper, have turned out to be right, and spectacularly so. The Prime Minister’s resignation yesterday afternoon (though he could theoretically stick around until the Autumn) ought to have been the biggest, most important story – yet [...]
What the other papers say this morning May 10, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ABN AMRO ADMITS SANCTIONS BREACH The former ABN Amro, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, on Monday agreed to pay $500m (£337m) in fines as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice and admitted that it willfully and systematically violated US sanctions against Iran, Libya, the Sudan and Cuba. The [...]
Cameron and Brown both court Clegg May 10, 2010 THE Tories last night offered to meet Nick Clegg half-way with his plans for electoral reform. David Cameron, loath to attempt to govern without a parliamentary majority, put a referendum on “alternative vote” (AV) on the table in a bid to finally clinch power. But just as the contest appeared to have decisively fallen in [...]
Sterling drops after the PM steps down May 10, 2010 GORDON Brown’s decision to resign as leader of the Labour party caused sterling to slide yesterday as investors reacted to the possibility of a left-leaning coalition with the Liberal Democrats. News of Brown’s decision caused sterling to drop more than a cent against the dollar, from $1.502 to $1.486. The fall came minutes after the [...]
