Sovereign debt risk sparks worry over banks May 9, 2010 HEADING into last week, the markets were still primarily focused on politics. Would Greece receive aid money from fellow European countries? Would politicians come together and back fiscal measures to stem Greek debt contagion? Who would win the general election in Britain? Previously peaceful anti-austerity protests in Greece took a turn for the worse, investors [...]
Korea Progression May 4, 2010 IF any car proves Korean manufacturer Kia’s star is in the ascendant then it must be its compact car, the Venga. It’s something of an illusion because it’s clear from the moment that you get in it that this is not really a compact car at all, in fact it’s what is known in the [...]
Ford revenues up by a quarter May 3, 2010 Ford posted a 25 per cent increase in its spring sales from a year earlier, propelled by record sales of its Fusion midsize sedan and robust demand for trucks led by the F-series pickup. Ford sold 167,542 vehicles in the US market in April, compared with 134,401 vehicles the same month a year earlier. Excluding [...]
Ford reports a $2.1bn profit April 27, 2010 FORD posted a stronger-than-expected $2.1bn (£1.38bn) quarterly profit and said it would be “solidly profitable” in 2010, a year ahead of schedule, driven by strong US sales and market share gains. Ford raised its North American production plan for the current quarter as well as the 2010 outlook for its Ford Motor Credit financing arm. [...]
For babymooners, Brown’s is best April 18, 2010 WHEN I told people that my wife was expecting our first child, a lot of the men who already have kids did this laugh, a sort of bark that seemed to be at once ironic, sardonic and to suggest “you poor, poor fool, you don’t know what you are letting yourself into. No, really, you [...]
FORD OVERTAKES VW April 15, 2010 ROELANT de Waard, Ford’s head of European sales, said yesterday the carmaker had unseated Volkswagen as Europe’s best-selling car brand in March. The US carmaker said it sold 192,500 cars in Europe last month and reported market share of 10.4 per cent, its best since August 1998.
SPORT | IN BRIEF April 13, 2010 Ford to make Saints switch RUGBY UNION: Highly-rated fly-half Joe Ford has agreed a deal to join Northampton Saints from Leeds at the end of the season. The 19-year-old, whose dad Mike is the England defence coach, has enjoyed a fine season with Carnegie and is seen as one of England’s brightest young talents. He [...]
Geely: Volvo to break even soon April 12, 2010 Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings said Volvo, which it is in the process of buying, could break even as early as the fourth quarter, after posting a surprise drop in its own second-half earnings. Hong Kong-listed Geely shares fell six per cent in their biggest drop in more than two months, hitting a five-week low, [...]
A big state can’t do it all April 12, 2010 A GOVERNMENT big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have,” so said Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States in August 1974. “Nonsense,” you say. “We don’t live in some sort of autocratic dictatorship. Our politicians respect the citizenry and serve the [...]
The biggest Mad Man in the world still retains a close eye for detail April 7, 2010 This downturn is evidently really beginning to get on the nerves of WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. He says: “People’s expectations have shifted. Company profits were down 30 per cent in 2008, now that they were only down, say, 13 per cent last year, they are calling that good. But if profits keep falling [...]