German food discounters Aldi and Lidl enjoy premium branding buzz – Brand Index January 13, 2015 In another blow to traditional British grocers in the ongoing supermarket price war, budget food retailers Aldi and Lidl are the highest performing brands in YouGov’s BrandIndex Buzz score rankings for 2014. But there is still good news for some more of Britain’s most loved retailers, such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The [...]
Forget trickle-down: In a free market, the rich don’t gain at the poor’s expense January 12, 2015 A lie, repeated often, becomes the truth in the public mind. That’s why, when a Fox News commentator suggests that Birmingham is a “Muslim-only city”, we feel it important to set the record straight. Sadly, many lies and myths pervade public discussion of economics. No matter how often they are debunked, they return. Attempts to [...]
Oil crashes to new six-year low after Goldman Sachs cuts forecasts January 12, 2015 Oil crashed to a new six-year low after Goldman Sachs became the latest banking giant to cut forecasts, saying the price of the black stuff must fall further if it's to discourage investment in its rival shale gas. Brent crude broke the $48 per barrel mark this afternoon taking it to its lowest level since [...]
Aer Lingus rejects latest takeover bid from British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines January 10, 2015 Once again, Irish airline Aer Lingus has rejected a takeover offer from International Consolidated Airlines (IAG). The holding company, which was set up by Willie Walsh and owns British Airways, upped its takeover offer to €2.40 (£1.88) a share at the end of December. Previously, IAG had made a bid of €2.30 a [...]
Passenger numbers rise at EasyJet and Aer Lingus January 7, 2015 Irish airline Aer Lingus and budget carrier EasyJet both saw passenger numbers rise by 3.2 per cent last year, in what was a generally good year for the firms. Aer Lingus saw the number of people using its services increase to 11.1m in 2014. Its load factor, the number of seats filled on each flight, [...]
Brent crude oil falls below $50 January 7, 2015 The price of Brent crude oil has dipped below $50-a-barrel mark for the first time in five and a half years, marking a symbolic moment for oil. The black stuff fell another two per cent this morning to $49.99 a barrel. Yesterday Brent crude dipped to $51.12, following a six per cent fall on Monday, [...]
Oil prices sink below $50 a barrel as petrol costs tumble January 5, 2015 Boost for motorists and airlines as petrol costs tumble… yet the speed of black gold’s collapse spooks global markets. The price of oil slid further yesterday, providing a boon to motorists and fuel-dependent industries, yet contributing to market turbulence throughout the world. American crude crashed below $50 a barrel during trading, while benchmark Brent tumbled under [...]
Rising customer numbers boost Ryanair shares January 5, 2015 BUDGET airline Ryanair saw its shares hit an all-time high yesterday as it announced it had increased customer numbers to more than six million in December, up 20 per cent compared with the same month in 2013. The firm’s load factor, a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity is used, also [...]
Ryanair’s charm offensive pays off as traffic soars 20 per cent in December January 5, 2015 It looks like Ryanair's new PR strategy – stop trying to extract money at any available opportunity, stop actually swearing at customers – has worked a treat. The airline's traffic grew to just over six million passengers in December, a 20 per cent increase from the same period last year. According to figures released this [...]
British Airways owner rejected by Aer Lingus December 18, 2014 Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus yesterday revealed that it had knocked back an offer from international rival IAG, owner of British Airways. Despite the knock-back, IAG is expected to come back with an improved offer, which could be supported by Ryanair. The budget carrier is a major shareholder in Aer Lingus, although it may soon [...]