Spain to offer banks bailout, Russia might June 25, 2009 THE SPANISH government is to establish a €90bn (£77bn) fund for its financial institutions, while Russia is pondering a similar rescue package for its own banks. Spain’s cabinet meets today and is likely to approve a proposal which will see lenders, including those who are not deemed to have capital shortfalls, given access to a [...]
Murray shows title-winning form to silence Gulbis jibes June 25, 2009 AN EMPHATIC victory, a standing ovation and the sound of his opponent’s pre-match jibes drowned out by a rapturous Centre Court: it may only have been the second round, but British No1 Andy Murray could have asked for little more. There were no signs of animosity at the previous day’s accusations of gamesmanship when Murray [...]
Ikea flat-packs 5,000 staff June 24, 2009 IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, yesterday revealed it axed 5,000 jobs last year during “the worst recession in living memory.” The Scandinavian family-ownedfurniture giant employs 120,000 people worldwide, with around 9,500 jobs in the UK, but declined to say how many have been cut at its British operations over the past year. Ikea chief [...]
Scrappage scheme boosts Inchcape but says UK market won’t recover until 2010 June 24, 2009 CAR dealer Inchcape reported a drop in sales for the first quarter yesterday, but said the government’s scrappage scheme had made a promising start, helping the retailer. “When the scrappage scheme was introduced, we saw an increase in traffic,” chief executive Andre Lacroix said. But he warned that the car industry was significantly down on [...]
Ad spend to recover in 2010 June 24, 2009 Group M, part of media giant WPP, said yesterday that it expects global advertising spend to fall 5.5 per cent to £417bn in 2009, with a mild recovery expected in 2010 – when the decline should ease to 1.4 per cent. Based on a 70-country report, the group said that the ad market recovery would [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHIP MAKER MOVES TO QUASH BID SPECULATIONImagination Technologies has reiterated that it expects to remain independent, despite market speculation to the contrary and heavy share buying in the chip designer. Intense buying on the London Stock Exchange saw more than 12m shares change hands and 9.7m sold at 150p a share, amid speculation [...]
GM seeks new bid for EU arm June 24, 2009 General Motors is soliciting rival bids to trump frontrunner Magna’s offer for its European operations, with China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) expected to seek a deal. BAIC is understood to be preparing an offer to be submitted before the end of July, while Belgium-based investor RHJ International may also put in a bid. Canadian [...]
Peugeot says it will post a big 2009 loss June 23, 2009 PEUGEOT Citroen said it expected to lose as much as €2bn (£1.7bn) in 2009 as it launched a convertible bond to raise €575m yesterday – but its European sales will fall less sharply than feared. Peugeot Citroen said that while the European car market was still down compared with 2008, the company’s “best current estimate” [...]
Russian shares drop sharply June 23, 2009 Shares in Russia slid further yesterday, extending losses to more than 20 per cent this month, confirming its reputation of one of the world’s most volatile markets. While the FTSE All World Emerging index fell 9.7 per cent from its 1 June peak, Russia’s RTS has tumbled 21 per cent since 2 June, including a [...]
MySpace says it will axe two thirds of international staff June 23, 2009 STRUGGLING social networking site MySpace said yesterday that it will cut about two thirds of its international work force and close at least four of its offices outside of the US, putting dozens of UK staff at risk. The News Corp-owned firm has proposed a restructuring plan that would see its international staff cut from [...]