Iceland volcano shuts airspace May 22, 2011 A new volcanic eruption is affecting flight paths around Iceland and could spread into Europe, forecasters warned yesterday. Icelandic airspace was shut for parts of the day. European carriers including British Airways said last night they were not expecting any disruption as a result of the Grimsvotn volcano erupting, and volcanologists were hopeful that the [...]
Lamprell uses rights issue to acquire peer May 19, 2011 BRITISH oil services firm Lamprell has agreed to buy Gulf-based peer Maritime Industrial Services (MIS) in a deal worth £208m. The Isle of Man-based firm will use a rights issue, debt and cash to acquire the Norwegian-owned rig maker. The fully underwritten issue will offer new shares of the company at 232p per unit to [...]
Betfred in £200m move for Tote May 17, 2011 Bookmaker Betfred said it had made an offer to buy state-owned bookmaker the Tote, worth close to £200m in cash. Privately-owned Betfred said it supported the government’s pledge that 50 per cent of the net proceeds from the sale would be put back into the racing industry. Betfred also said it would make a contribution [...]
THE TIPSTER May 16, 2011 THE Nikkei was sold off a little on Monday following some disappointing consumer confidence data. The country is still struggling back to normality following the terrible earthquake, but for contrarian investors, Japanese stocks could look good value. Capital CFDs quotes a price of 9,540-9,550 for the Nikkei 225. Mothercare reports its earnings on Wednesday. Its [...]
BA dispute is resolved after change at top May 12, 2011 THE TRADE union representing British Airways cabin crew yesterday voted almost unanimously to back a deal that is all but certain to end an acrimonious and lengthy dispute that has cost the airline hundreds of millions of pounds. Sources close to the Unite union said a change of management at the airline had helped end [...]
BA cabin crew spat nears end May 11, 2011 The dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew could come to an end today, when the Unite union is expected to present the terms of a peace deal to its members. An email to members of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association said yesterday that talks between the airline and unions to end [...]
Bank holidays give boost to Gatwick load factor May 11, 2011 BANK holiday travel has helped boost Gatwick airport’s load factor to a record 79.7 per cent high, as passenger numbers jumped by more than 700,000 in April compared to the same period last year. Average load factors climbed 3.2 percentage points from last year, after April 2010 numbers were hit by disruption from the ash [...]
Weak banks and fears over Eurozone debt drag on FTSE May 9, 2011 BANKING stocks weighed on Britain’s leading share index yesterday, with the sector hit by their capitulation in a fight over loan insurance mis-selling, and by Eurozone debt concerns after S&P cut Greece’s credit rating. The British Banking Association said members would not appeal a ruling that they compensate customers wrongly sold payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
International Airlines Group narrows losses May 6, 2011 International Airlines Group has seen its losses narrow on rising revenues in the company’s first results since the British Airways-Iberia merger. The firm lost 47m euros ($68m; £42m) in the first quarter of the year, down from a 273m euro loss a year ago. Revenues jumped 15.4 per cent on the year as business volumes [...]
Danisco board backs higher DuPont offer May 2, 2011 DENMARK’S Danisco has urged shareholders to accept a higher takeover bid from US chemicals group DuPont yesterday as fund managers welcomed the “decent offer” and said it would likely succeed. DuPont, run by chief executive Ellen Kullman, raised its offer for the Danish food ingredients and enzymes producer by five per cent to 700 Danish [...]