Jaguar hits 673.4m in losses as it inches towards loan deal July 26, 2009 CARMAKER Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) saw its UK operations tumble to a dramatic loss of £673.4m last year, down from a net profit of £641.5m in 2007. Accounts filed at Companies House show that total recognised losses – which includes money lost on pension schemes – hit almost £1.2bn for 2008. The news of how [...]
GM and Berlin still locked in talks over European operations, Ford posts profit July 23, 2009 US carmaker General Motors said yesterday it was still in detailed talks with both Canadian car parts firm Magna and Belgian private equity outfit RHJ International, who are looking to buy its European arm. GM has been considering three final offers for GM Europe – which consists of Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in the [...]
BHP Billiton in talks with its top two candidates for the chairmanship role July 19, 2009 BHP Billiton, the mining giant, is believed to be holding interviews this week with Jacques Nasser, former chief executive of Ford, and John Schubert, a former managing director of Esso Australia, for the post of chairman. The current BHP chairman Don Argus is expected to be stepping down after the £71bn iron ore joint venture [...]
Keydata CEO made personal loan July 12, 2009 The chief executive of Keydata, the collapsed specialist investment firm, made personal loans worth several million dollars to the man behind the investment vehicles that Keydata is blaming for a £103m shortfall in client funds. Court documents show that Stewart Ford lent $3.25m to David Elias, who managed funds that Keydata sold on to its [...]
Scrap boosts new car sales July 6, 2009 NEW car sales in June fell at their slowest rate for nearly a year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said yesterday, as it praised the government’s scrappage scheme. The number of new cars sold in the UK last month totalled 176,264 – a 15.7 per cent drop on the June 2008 figure, according [...]
I’m no thug, claims eye-gouging Burger July 2, 2009 SOUTH AFRICA flanker Schalk Burger has refused to apologise for eye-gouging Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald in last weekend’s bruising second Test. Burger has been banned for eight weeks after being cited for the offence in the Springboks’ series-clinching 28-25 win in Pretoria. But, ahead of tomorrow’s third and final clash in Johannesburg, Burger defended his [...]
SCRAP SCHEME ACCELERATES FORD SALES July 2, 2009 CARMAKER Ford said yesterday it had taken orders for over 12,000 new vehicles under the UK government’s cash-for-bangers scheme. Ford said more than 75 per cent of its scrappage orders are for its small car range with the Fiesta, Ka and Fusion models all selling well under the plan.
Finsbury boss Rudd quits as WH Ireland director July 1, 2009 ROLAND Rudd, the boss of City PR outfit Finsbury, has resigned as a non-executive director of City stockbroker WH Ireland, citing “other work commitments”. Rudd joined the board last year as part of a consortium that bought a 26 per cent stake in WH Ireland. Former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Marland, Carphone Warehouse co-founder David [...]
US June car sales slide again but slump starts to stabilise July 1, 2009 US car sales tumbled in June as the economy remained a deep concern for consumers, but Ford posted far better results than other large carmakers and shot ahead of Detroit rivals passing through federally sponsored bankruptcies. Carmakers said the results pointed to more stability for the economy, but fell short of marking a turnaround for [...]
Keydata plot thickens as PwC discovers a 103m black hole June 30, 2009 ADMINISTRATORS of failed structured product firm Keydata have unearthed a £103m black hole in its assets, as it emerged two mysterious groups it was trading with have vanished along with customers’ money. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has involved the Serious Fraud Office as it believes the funds may have been “misappropriated”. PwC is trying to ascertain why [...]