UK car exports hit record high January 17, 2013 THE UK exported more cars than ever before in 2012, figures revealed yesterday, providing a much-needed boost for the country’s manufacturing sector. British factories made 1.46m cars last year, a rise of nine per cent and the highest number since 2007 – and experts predict further growth in the years ahead, Of these, 1.21m were sold [...]
Volvo details dramatic cost cuts in bid to be profitable by 2014 January 17, 2013 SWEDISH car maker Volvo, owned by Chinese group Geely, detailed dramatic cost cuts yesterday as part of its bid to become profitable again within the next two years. Chief executive Hakan Samuelsson, said the firm would need to slash costs by over 1bn Swedish kronor (£95.6m) to enable it to break even. Earlier this month, [...]
The greatest show on earth January 16, 2013 The biggest, loudest, wackiest technology showcase in the world, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), came to a close in Las Vegas this week, leaving geeks drooling over the gadgets we can expect to see over the next 12 months. The six-day event saw an estimated 20,000 new products from the over-3,000 exhibitors. This year’s event [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 15, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Spain asks Germany to boost growth Mariano Rajoy has called on Germany and other creditor countries in the Eurozone to do more to stimulate growth, arguing that a switch to a more expansionary policy would boost economic recovery across the single currency area. “I think that in this moment, when there is a [...]
Orcel heralds Novelli as he returns to UBS January 14, 2013 ANDREA Orcel, the newly appointed head of investment banking at UBS, has made his first significant hire, bringing deal-maker Piero Novelli back to the bank. Novelli, whose past clients include Gas Natural Fenosa, Repsol, Enel, Renault, ABB, Siemens, GM, Ford, Cisco and HP, left the Japanese bank Nomura at the end of last year by [...]
Why Tesco’s cracking results took the Christmas crown January 10, 2013 HOW to find a clear winner in the Christmas battle of the supermarkets? Not from the headline figures, it seems, after straightforward data releases from Sainsbury and Tesco descended into a furore over the small print. Tesco reported like-for-like sales growth of 1.8 per cent over Christmas. Sainsbury reported like-for-like growth of 0.9 per cent. [...]
Ford doubles dividend to seven year high on good balance sheet January 10, 2013 US CAR maker Ford yesterday doubled its quarterly dividend to 10 cents per share, a seven-year high, due to strong sales in North America and its “strong balance sheet”. The increase follows years of struggling during the economic crisis, when Ford suspended its dividends for five years up until December 2011. “We had thought that [...]
2012 marks an end to slack in new car sales January 7, 2013 CAR SALES appeared to have put the worst days of the credit crunch well behind them in 2012, as an upbeat December capped off an impressive year for the market. New car registrations across the whole of 2012 were 2,044,609, up 5.3 per cent of 2011, and the highest since 2008, according to data released yesterday. In [...]
You would be mad to miss this January 3, 2013 FILM Iron Man 3 In cinemas 26 April While Iron Man 2 was met with mixed reviews, director Jon Favreau made a big comeback with The Avengers last year, which quickly became the highest grossing comic book film of all time. Expectations for the third installment of Iron Man, then, are high and so far [...]
Hopes rise for black cab firm after new bid December 20, 2012 VOLVO Car Corporation’s owner Zhejiang Geely has entered the race to take over stricken UK black cab maker Manganese Bronze, after it emerged the Chinese company was in talks to buy the Coventry-based manufacturer. Manganese, which has been making the iconic black cabs through its London Taxi Company since 1948, fell into administration in October [...]