Ford brings back dividend December 8, 2011 Ford has turned the ignition on its dividend for the first time in five years, with a quarterly payout of five cents a share that the number two US automaker said it could maintain during any future downturn. The dividend, payable in March, will cost Ford about $760m (£485m) a year. The company last paid [...]
New England coach Lancaster ready to get tough December 8, 2011 Farrell and Rowntree also on board as new-look set-up aim to eradicate memories of dismal World Cup ENGLAND’S new interim head coach Stuart Lancaster intends to rule with an iron fist in an attempt to eradicate the disciplinary issues and laddish culture which undermined the Red Rose’s abysmal World Cup campaign. Lancaster, the England Saxons [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CLARKE REJECTS CALL FOR EU POWER GRAB Ken Clarke has told Conservative eurosceptics to forget about repatriation of powers from Brussels at this week’s European Union summit, while urging David Cameron to focus on “how to maintain the financial stability of the western world.” The justice secretary’s comments, in an interview with the [...]
CAR TALK November 29, 2011 FORD FOCUS IN THE SWEENEY’S SPOTLIGHT A movie remake of The Sweeney is exciting enough. But Jack Regan will be played by Ray Winstone and he’ll be driving the new 250PS Ford Focus ST. We just wanted an excuse to show it because it looks so good. The Sweeney is set in London after all, [...]
Speed’s death stuns football world November 27, 2011 Tributes pour in for Wales manager, found hanged at his home in Cheshire aged just 42 THE FOOTBALL world was numbed yesterday and united in grief after Wales manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home in Cheshire. The body of 42-year-old Speed, who had appeared on the BBC’s magazine show Football Focus on [...]
KKR and Japanese firm Itochu link for $7bn Samson bid November 22, 2011 KKR, the global investment firm, has joined forces with Japanese trading house Itochu in a $7bn (£4.5bn) bid for US oil and gas group Samson Investment. KKR has been in exclusive talks to buy privately held Samson for weeks, two people familiar with the matter said. The involvement of Itochu is a new twist, underscoring [...]
Engineering giant Tomkins closes in on $550m sale of its tyre safety business November 20, 2011 ENGINEERING giant Tomkins is closing in on a sale of its tyre safety arm, with a string of private equity firms understood to be monitoring the asset. The firm’s valves and gauges business could also be hived off in what would be a major restructuring of Tomkins’ Northern Irish business, according to the Sunday Telegraph. [...]
H&M in same store sales dip November 15, 2011 SWEDISH fashion group Hennes & Mauritz yesterday posted a second straight monthly fall in sales at established stores in October as the debt crisis in the Eurozone pushed consumer sentiment even lower. H&M said same-store sales in October fell two per cent. Total turnover for H&M, including newly opened stores, rose eight per cent in [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 13, 2011 Crest Nicholson The house builder has appointed Trevor Selwyn as managing director of a newly formed London division. The new division will have an annual turnover of £100m, developing mid-range sites in and around the capital. Selwyn was formerly at Countryside Properties, and spent his last seven years there as land director for subsidiary Copthorn [...]
Shares in GM tumble after profits drop November 9, 2011 GENERAL Motors posted a third-quarter profit that fell 15 per cent after a loss in Europe, and disappointed investors with a forecast that closed the door on any improvement in the current quarter. GM vowed to slash costs to shore up margins in a sputtering economy but its fourth-quarter outlook disappointed investors and sent shares [...]