Government backs electric car revolution March 18, 2010 The government yesterday announced it will back Ford and Nissan in the development of electric cars and environmentally friendly engines, allotting nearly £2bn to the cause in an effort to further green motoring development in the UK. Ford is preparing to invest £1.5bn into its four UK sites over the course of five years after [...]
GM bullish but no plans to IPO March 17, 2010 GENERAL Motors has a “reasonable chance” to make a profit in 2010. It could sell shares by late this year though it insists it has no timetable for an initial public offering (IPO) that would reduce the American government’s majority stake in the carmaker, chief financial officer Chris Liddell said yesterday. Liddell, speaking to reporters [...]
Close profits rocket 50pc March 16, 2010 British merchant bank Close Brothers saw first-half profits rocket 50 per cent, smashing analyst expectations. However, it sounded a note of caution saying the buoyant conditions had sagged recently. Chief executive Preben Prebensen said uncertainty surrounding the upcoming election has spooked markets and hit its profits. Its operating profit before tax reached £62.3m for the [...]
Petrol prices are rising to record levels, warns AA March 16, 2010 UK petrol prices could hit a record average high of £1.20 a litre in the next few weeks, the AA has warned. The motoring organisation has said the wholesale price of petrol has sent the cost up. Some petrol stations in central London, which the AA says typically have the highest petrol prices in the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES POLICE SHUT DOWN MARIPOSA HACKER RING Police, private security experts and internet service providers said yesterday they had shut down the Mariposa botnet, one of the largest networks of hacked personal computers discovered. It had siphoned off financial and other information from inside half of the largest 1,000 US companies. Computers using about [...]
Lloyds seeks buyers for its €1bn Irish Halifax deposits February 17, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group has put its Halifax retail banking assets in the Republic of Ireland up for sale as it gives up its attempt to break into the tough local market. Earlier this week the bank said it would close 44 branches and lay off 750 staff by July. Its Irish intermediary business, which sells [...]
Q&A CHOOSING A NAME February 4, 2010 Q. I’ve got a great idea for a business, but I’m struggling to find a name. How do I go about it? A.The first step is to look at the nature of the service you are providing and use that as a way to come up with conceptual themes, says David Haigh, CEO of Brand [...]
Toyota plans quick fix as crisis grows February 1, 2010 TOYOTA detailed plans yesterday to fix 2.4m vehicles equipped with faulty accelerators in the US as the first lawsuits landed on its desk. Lawyers claimed the world’s largest carmaker had endangered drivers by ignoring signs of trouble. Toyota, scrambling to contain the fallout from the sweeping recall on its finances and reputation, said it would [...]
Car sales plunge despite scrappage scheme January 21, 2010 CAR production plunged last year despite a late surge fuelled by the Government’s scrappage scheme. Many companies cut back on manufacturing early in the year as recession-hit Brits cut back. Honda was one of the companies badly hit – reducing production at its plant in Swindon, Wiltshire, for four months from February. The introduction of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 17, 2010 FINANCIAL SERVICES CITY’S ROLE AS FINANCIAL CENTRE SET FOR NEW BOOST, SAYS TOP HEDGE FUND London will thrive as a financial centre over the next decade by becoming the natural western hub for emerging market growth, according to one of the City’s best-known hedge funds. In stark contrast to bankers’ doom-laden predictions about the City’s [...]