FTSE in modest gains as Italy and Greece fight to win back market credibility November 11, 2011 Banks led modest FTSE 100 gains in early trading as Greece and Italy fought to convince investors that they could fight back from the economic abyss. Italy, the latest Eurozone nation to come under pressure in the bond market, moved closer to a national unity government, while its treasury managed to sell one-year bills at [...]
IAG targets £1bn profit by 2015 November 11, 2011 British Airways and Iberia owner IAG said it had increased its growth and cost savings targets and expected to make an operating profit of around 1.5bn euros (£1bn) in 2015. Europe’s second-biggest airline group by value behind Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said it expected to achieve annual synergies of 450m euros in 2015, the fifth year [...]
Virgin attacks IAG’s BMI bid November 6, 2011 VIRGIN Atlantic has lashed out at British Airways owner International Airline Group’s (IAG) bid to buy the loss-making BMI from Germany’s Lufthansa, warning that it still faces competition concerns before it can proceed. Virgin responded to IAG’s announcement on Friday that it had “reached an agreement in principle” to buy BMI by confirming it had [...]
IAG to acquire bmi November 4, 2011 International Airlines Group is to buy Lufthansa’s British unit bmi to boost growth prospects at its Heathrow hub at a time when airline profits are falling due to higher fuel costs. The announcement came as IAG reported a 31 per cent fall in third-quarter profit, better than expected and outperforming peers, with analysts expecting a [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD October 30, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Barclays announces today. It traces its origins back to 1690, when John Freame and Thomas Gould traded as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street. Eagle eyes await results. ● Imperial Tobacco announces tomorrow. Its brands include Davidoff, West, Gauloises Blondes, Montecristo and Drum. It was created in 1901 through the amalgamation of thirteen [...]
BAA earnings rise as traffic edges higher October 26, 2011 BAA posted a 17 per cent rise in underlying earnings in the first nine months of the year, lifted by traffic growth, especially at London’s Heathrow airport. BAA, owned by a consortium led by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £842.2m, on revenues 10.2 per cent [...]
Why so-called corporate social responsibility is not the answer to our problems October 23, 2011 WHAT’S your image of a socially responsible company? One that pledges not to pollute unnecessarily and donates a percentage of its profits to supporting vulnerable communities or habitats maybe? Better still, one that encourages its staff to volunteer their time to achieving this? Certainly one whose aims go beyond making a profit and are clear [...]
Opening up a new vista in air travel October 23, 2011 THE Nina J is bobbing up and down in the clear sparkling Riviera water, flanked by other super yachts that occasionally eject bevies of python and white linen-clad babes ready to take Monaco by storm. Around the pier, portly perma-tanned sugar daddies squeeze the waists of their young Ivankas as they ponder how to blow [...]
Mayor’s plea to Cameron over airport October 16, 2011 BORIS Johnson has risked a fresh row with David Cameron by warning that Britain will become a “bit part player” in the global economy unless a new hub airport is built in the south-east. The Mayor of London said Britain risks becoming an “aviation backwater” and losing out in the battle for emerging markets contracts [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 16, 2011 Heathwick critic Despite Victoria Borwick’s defence of the “Heathwick” scheme on Friday [To keep the economy flying we need more air capacity], the idea is flawed in our view. British Airways already tried the idea of a dual hub a few years ago and it did not work, in part because connection times were uncompetitive [...]