City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 15, 2012 Troika Dialog The investment banking division of Sberbank has appointed Dean Tyler as managing director, head of international fixed income sales. He joins its London office from VTB Capital, where he was head of its fixed income sales team. Tyler has also held senior roles at ING Bank and F&C Asset Management. Scottish Widows Investment [...]
Tourism bosses question Hunt’s China plan August 14, 2012 TOURISM industry leaders have been left unconvinced by government plans to treble to the number of Chinese visitors to the UK, saying yesterday there were still too many barriers to inbound travel that needed to be addressed. In a speech at the Tate Modern, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt set out how the government plans to [...]
IAG eyes stake in American Airlines August 13, 2012 International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, may consider taking a stake in American Airlines, in a move that could block any takeover of American by IAG rival Delta. ‘We would consider taking a stake in American Airlines if that is something that American would welcome,’ an IAG spokeswoman said yesterday. Her [...]
IAG mulls stake in American to safeguard Oneworld alliance August 5, 2012 BRITISH AIRWAYS owner IAG is considering taking a stake in beleaguered US carrier American Airlines, according to the firm’s chief executive Willie Walsh. Taking a small holding in the firm in order to protect the Oneworld ticketing alliance is “something we are going to look at”, Walsh told the Financial Times. “If we can make [...]
An alternative paradise August 5, 2012 IT is raining on Dominica, and this is no passing shower. I’m soaked to the skin, I’ve lost the sole from my shoe and I’m covered in a reddy brown mud. Dominica, known as the “nature island”, is already turning all my preconceptions about a Caribbean “paradise” on their head. Not famous for its white [...]
IAG to restructure Iberia as group slumps to H1 loss August 3, 2012 The owner of British Airways and Iberia has announced a wholesale restructuring of the underperforming Spanish airline as it tumbled to a first-half group loss and cut its full-year earnings guidance. Willie Walsh, the head of International Airlines Group, said the Iberia reorganisation would mean shedding jobs and reshaping its network. “Iberia’s problems are deep [...]
IAG cuts full-year guidance as Iberia weighs August 3, 2012 IAG, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, cut its full-year profit guidance after a poor performance from its Spanish unit and rising fuel costs led it to a first-half loss. Europe’s fourth-biggest airline group by market value today reported an operating loss of €253m (£199m) in the six months to the end [...]
Summer in grand style at Stockholm’s stateliest hotel July 29, 2012 SWEDEN has a wintry reputation: reindeer and igloos; massive cable knit sweaters with dorky prints and, of course, a depressing lack of daylight. But winter’s flipside is, in my view, the more compelling reason to visit. A 2AM sunrise, green fields and summer houses and lakes, sailing, country pursuits of all types, rolling in the [...]
British Airways shows firms can recover ground July 24, 2012 IN January, I wrote about how British Airways had recovered from the difficulties it faced in 2010 when strikes, snow and the Icelandic ash cloud all caused delays and cancellations. In 2011, crisis was avoided and the company overtook many of its rivals in terms of brand perception to sit in second place behind Virgin [...]
FTSE tumbles below 5,500 mark as Spain edges closer to a full bailout July 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed back below 5,500 for the first time this month yesterday, with financials among the worst off on Eurozone debt exposure fears as Spain looked to be nearing a full sovereign bailout. Spain paid the second highest yield on short-term debt since the birth of the euro at an auction yesterday, [...]