Lookers eyes record results boosted by spare parts division July 7, 2010 CAR dealership Lookers is on course for record half-year results with the recent recession boosting demand for new and used cars, the firm said yesterday. The Manchester-based company said all its business divisions were currently performing ahead of plan, during the first half of the year despite disruption from January’s snow. Lookers, which has 5,500 [...]
Drama in the Deep South July 7, 2010 FORD COUNTY BY JOHN GRISHAM ARROW PAPERBACK, £7.99 BY ZOE STRIMPEL John Grisham, trusty friend of travelling businessmen for 20 years, is the definition of “best-selling author”. But what distinguishes him from the slews of so-called best-selling thriller writers, many of them attempting to be just like him, is the watertight quality of his writing [...]
New car sales enjoy a 20pc surge in 2010 July 6, 2010 THE car industry continued its steady recovery, reporting a 10.8 per cent year-on-year rise in new registrations. Registrations topped 195,000 in June, the 12th successive monthly increase. The figures were helped by a 25 per cent increase in sales in the fleet market and large-scale orders from businesses. This helped to offset the end of [...]
Luxury motor company Aston Martin considers a £1bn IPO July 4, 2010 LUXURY carmaker Aston Martin is considering a joint venture with another manufacturer or an initial public offering (IPO) to boost its brand’s range and and technology. Chairman David Richards said over the weekend he thought the firm would be valued at over £1bn for the purposes of an IPO. A second alternative would be a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GENERAL ELECTRIC CHIEF VENTS FRUSTRATION OVER CHINA The GE chief executive Jeff Immelt told Italian industrialists at a dinner on Wednesday that he was worried about the way Beijing was treating foreign companies. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win or any of us to [...]
Labour figures and metal miners drag on Wall St July 1, 2010 US stocks fell yesterday as manufacturing and labour market data heightened fears of a double-dip recession before today’s key employment report. Major indexes were lower for a fourth straight day after suffering their worst quarter since late 2008, but losses eased near the end of the session. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 41.49 points, [...]
CITY A.M.’S STUNNING STRIMPEL PROBES THE STRANGE MALE BRAIN July 1, 2010 SUPER-GLAM Sketch last night played host to the debut book launch party of City A.M.’s very own lifestyle editor, Zoe Strimpel. Around 80 select guests were invited to celebrate the publication of What The Hell Is He Thinking?, Strimpel’s eighty-questions-and-answers guide to what goes on in the male brain. “Men are tough to figure out [...]
Chloride considers new Emerson bid June 29, 2010 POWER protection firm Chloride said last night a new takeover bid from American rival Emerson was a superior proposal to the deal already made with Swiss firm ABB. Emerson raised its offer by more than a third to 375p per share yesterday, surpassing a prior board agreement with Swiss firm ABB for 325p per share. [...]
Tesla Motors shares surge in second-best US IPO of the year June 29, 2010 ELECTRIC car maker Tesla Motors saw its shares surge 41 per cent yesterday in the successful first day of its initial public offering (IPO). Even as other stocks plunged, Tesla sold 13.3m shares at a price above its expected range of $14 (£9.30) to $16. Its shares opened at $19 and closed at $23.89 on [...]
Tesla offers more shares in flotation June 28, 2010 ELECTRIC carmaker Tesla Motors has raised the number of shares it will sell in its initial public offering by 20 per cent, an early sign that investor interest in the start-up is strong. The increase yesterday, a day before shares are expected to begin trading, brings the number of shares being offered to 13.3m from [...]