Lancaster looks to Vunipola and Youngs October 24, 2012 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster is to turn to emerging forwards Mako Vunipola and Tom Youngs today when he names his 32-man squad for the autumn internationals as he seeks to cope with the losses of several significant players. In addition to the retirements of the peripheral Charlie Hodgson, Matt Stevens and Lee Mears, Lancaster is [...]
Peugeot gets state rescue as crisis deepens October 24, 2012 PSA PEUGEOT Citroen yesterday unveiled a government-backed refinancing deal for its lending arm as the struggling French automaker’s financial position deteriorated further, sending its stock to historic lows. Europe’s second-biggest automaker said it was close to an agreement with creditor banks on €11.5bn (£9.2bn) of refinancing and had won state guarantees on €7bn in further [...]
Ford set to close Belgian factory October 24, 2012 Ford will close a factory employing 4,300 workers in the Belgian town of Genk by the end of 2014, shifting production to Valencia, Spain, as the US carmaker tries to stem European losses. The plant makes the Mondeo mid-size car and Galaxy and S-MAX minivans, but all three models are nearing the end of their [...]
Jefferies picks UK mid-market head October 23, 2012 ■ Jefferies, the US bank group, has given a new role to Stephen Ford, one of the stars of the Hoare Govett broking business it bought earlier this year. Ford, who is a highly-rated equities salesman, has been made head of UK mid-market equities, with a brief to bring in new clients to the firm. [...]
A fascinating, brutal and, in this case, very personal look at a post-Leveson media landscape October 11, 2012 THEATRE ENQUIRY Barbican | *** Being close to the subject of a play doesn’t necessarily make you any better equipped to review it. A soldier may be on first name terms with the horrors of war but that doesn’t always make him the best person to appreciate the artistic merits of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse [...]
Toyota will recall 7.4m vehicles over glitch with power window October 10, 2012 TOYOTA Motors said yesterday it would recall more than 7.4m vehicles worldwide as a faulty power window switch was a potential fire hazard, the latest in a series of setbacks that have dented the reputation of Japan’s biggest carmaker. The voluntary move is the biggest single recall since Ford pulled 8m vehicles off the road [...]
Toyota to recall 7.4m vehicles globally October 10, 2012 Car manufacturer Toyota said this morning it is to recall 7.4m vehicles globally, due to malfunctioning power switches. The Vitz, Yaris and Corolla models are thought to be affected. The company will recall 2.47m vehicles in the US, as well as 1.4m from China and another 1.4m in Europe, making the biggest single recall since [...]
Car talk October 9, 2012 The new Volkswagon Golf Volkswagen has released prices for the new seventh-generation Golf. Starting from £16,330, it will be sold with a choice of four petrol engines and two diesel engines. All will have seven airbags, semi-automatic air-con and a touchscreen entertainment system with DAB radio that’s teed up for your bluetooth phone, MP3 player [...]
Bond helps to push carmaker Aston Martin to a pre-tax loss October 4, 2012 ICONIC carmaker Aston Martin swung to a loss in 2011 as financing costs overshadowed rising sales, according to the luxury carmaker’s annual accounts. The British firm, taken over by Kuwaiti investors in 2007, posted a pre-tax loss of £33.1m for last year, from a pre-tax profit of £6.9m in 2010. Operating profits fell by three [...]
Loophole stops industry from going full speed October 4, 2012 FINALLY, some good news. Not only did car sales improve by more than expected in September, but the gains came mostly through consumer spending rather than corporate sales. But wait – a new car? That’s a pretty luxurious purchase in these straitened times, surely the squeezed middle can’t be cutting back on everything else and [...]