UK Reader’s Digest hit by pension woes February 17, 2010 TREMORS passed through the corporate landscape as Reader’s Digest collapsed under the weight of its pension deficit yesterday, leading experts to warn of a fresh phase of crisis for retirement schemes. The UK arm of the 87-year-old publisher filed for administration two weeks after the Pensions Regulator rejected a plan to plug the £125m hole [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UNITED REMAINS KEEN TO COURT RIVAL CONTINENTAL The head of United Airlines has hinted at the benefits of renewing merger talks with Continental Airlines, saying the market had judged in favour of rival Delta’s takeover of Northwest. “The market capitalisation of Delta is approximately twice the combined market capitalisation of United and Continental,” [...]
Banks and commodities make gains as Wall Street is closed for public holiday February 15, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by firmer banks and commodity issues after falls in the previous session, while British Airways climbed on increased hopes for a global alliance. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.02 points higher at 5,167.47, well below the session peak of 5,194.29. Blue chips drifted off [...]
BA shares surge on AA ruling February 15, 2010 SHARES in British Airways yesterday surged after the lucrative tie-up between the struggling carrier and potential partner American Airlines moved a step closer. The US Department of Transportation (DoT) proposed granting the Oneworld alliance immunity from anti-trust competition laws. It says the move would enhance competition within the airline industry where the SkyTeam alliance and [...]
Virgin could appeal BA and AA tie-up February 15, 2010 VIRGIN Atlantic could appeal against a controversial decision by US transport regulators to allow a tie-up between British Airways (BA) and American Airlines (AA). Virgin said it would await final approval by the US Department of Transportation (DoT) and the European Union of the plan to allow BA and AA to work together on ticketing and [...]
Sore arms and seals in Canada’s beautiful waters February 14, 2010 IT is a bright, warm and dazzling spring day and we are paddling our solo sea kayaks straight into the wind and sun. White diamond rays of sunlight bounce off the ocean; it looks like a carpet of sequins. With the wind roaring in my ears, I set my core muscles to firm, get my [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SHELL STAFF DETAILS LEAKED TO CAMPAIGN GROUPS Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a serious breach of security after contact details for more than 170,000 employees and contractors were e-mailed to environmental and human rights campaign groups. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, gives names and telephone numbers for all the company’s workforce worldwide, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF BT’S MASSIVE PENSION DEFICIT? February 11, 2010 ROS ALTMANN | INDEPENDENT PENSIONS EXPERT BT has a huge pension scheme with a massive deficit. The company is doing quite well, so it’s important it pays as much as it can into the scheme now. If it doesn’t, we could see a situation similar to British Airways, which is in serious trouble with its [...]
BA turns to old staff to cover strike February 10, 2010 British Airways yesterday asked staff whose temporary contracts expired last year to cover expected upcoming strike action. Former staff have been offered six month contracts worth £1,000 a month with an additional £2.40 an hour flying allowance. The staff would have to undergo a week long refresher course that would begin on 22 February. BA’s [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TREASURY BLOCKS £1BN TAX LOOPHOLE A corporate tax loophole that threatened to drain the exchequer of £1bn a year was blocked yesterday by the Treasure in legislation that will be backdated to October 2007. The move is a response to a threat by banks and other companies to exploit an apparent defedct in [...]