Benitez quit rumours still rife despite fresh agent claims May 4, 2010 RAFAEL BENITEZ’S future as manager of Liverpool remained under scrutiny last night despite the Spaniard’s agent insisting he wants to stay at Anfield. Just weeks after suggesting Benitez was ready to join Juventus, Manuel Garcia Quilon now says the 50-year-old is committed to working with any new owners to revive the club’s fortunes. Those comments [...]
UK firms hit by new global accounting rules April 29, 2010 PROPOSED changes to global pension accounting rules will make pension costs more volatile at UK firms, exacerbating the impact that pension deficits have on companies experts warned. The International Accounting Standard Board yesterday announced changes to the way pension deficits and surpluses are accounted for, which accountants KPMG forecast could wipe as much as £10bn [...]
OFT immunity policy means truth unclear April 29, 2010 JURORS trying the case of four senior British Airways executives, including one from London, who are alleged to have taken part in a price-fixing cartel with Virgin Atlantic, have been warned that the prospect of immunity may taint the evidence of Virgin staff. The court heard yesterday that Virgin Atlantic had received immunity from the [...]
Volcanic ash cost Heathrow and Stansted £28m in losses April 29, 2010 AIRPORTS operator BAA took a £28m one-off hit from the six-day flight disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano. The group, which owns six airports in the UK including Heathrow and Stansted, said despite the impact of the volcanic ash, which forced them to close both London airports, it remained financially resilient. First quarter figures for [...]
Two BA executives labelled liars in price-fixing trial April 28, 2010 TWO British Airways (BA) executives embroiled in price-fixing allegations were labelled as “liars” in court yesterday on the third day of the trial. Richard Latham QC told a jury at the Southwark Crown Court yesterday that accounts given to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) by BA executives in 2007 did not “sit side by [...]
Branson named by OFT in cartel trial April 27, 2010 VIRGIN Atlantic owner Sir Richard Branson has been named during opening statements made to a London court yesterday over his airline’s involvement with British Airways (BA) in price-fixing allegations made by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told a jury at the Southwark Crown Court that Branson had asked senior executive [...]
Amadeus IPO sees success at €11 a share April 27, 2010 Travel reservations firm Amadeus last night shrugged off a fickle listings market and closed books on a €1.36bn (£1.18bn) initial public offering (IPO) with the sale four times oversubscribed. The IPO priced at €11 per share, above the midpoint of the price range which was set at €9.2 to €12.2 per share when it was [...]
OFT: BA made millions from price fixing April 26, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) made back hundreds of millions of pounds a year following a price-fixing scheme on its fuel surcharge, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday in court. Richard Latham, the OFT’s prosecutor, told a jury at Southwark Crown Court the airline colluded with rivals Virgin Atlantic to increase passenger fuel surcharges at [...]
Rejuvenation and wine in Lombardy April 25, 2010 PLINY the Younger wrote his Tragedia and Comedia in a villa on Lake Como and the lake has continued to attract the best and the richest of society, from Madonna and George Clooney to Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho and Sylvester Stallone. Indeed, the lakes of the northern Italian region of Lombardy – the most famous being [...]
Virgin in price fixing inquiry April 22, 2010 SIR Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic has said it will “robustly defend” itself against accusations of price fixing by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The competition watchdog alleges, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific may have illegally co-ordinated prices for passenger flights between London and Hong Kong. The body said it had issued a statement of [...]