Q & A : WHERE HAVE THE STRIKE THREATS COME FROM? October 7, 2009 Q. WHAT ARE THE UNIONS OPPOSING?A. On Tuesday, British Airways announced it was cutting 1,700 jobs and was introducing a two-year pay freeze for cabin crew as it looks to cut costs in the downturn. It also said it would recruit new staff on different terms and conditions to current employees. Unite has denounced the [...]
Finsbury chief executive departs September 30, 2009 Cake and bread maker Finsbury Food yesterday announced that chief executive Martin Lightbody stepped down with immediate effect after the group reported a 65 per cent fall in year end pre-tax profit. Lightbody will be replaced by chief operating officer John Duffy. Finsbury posted pre-tax profits of £5m for the year to 4 July, compared [...]
DOGGED BROWN VOWS TO FIGHT September 29, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown continued his assault on the City yesterday, promising that “the banks will pay back the British people”. Speaking at the Labour party conference, Brown told delegates to “dream big dreams” and put behind them the mood of defeatism. But his fight back will be dealt a major blow this morning, when [...]
RAPPER WARREN G SWAGGERS HIS WAY OUT OF THE ECONOMIC MESS September 28, 2009 OH, THE joy of listening to celebrities wax lyrical about how they’ve attuned their jet-set lifestyle to the rigours of the global recession. This week, it’s rap superstar Warren G, rapper on the 1994 track “Regulate”, who has given a no-holds-barred interview to Vanity Fair magazine about how he’s managed to emerge unscathed from the [...]
ITV investors oppose Davis September 27, 2009 Embattled broadcaster ITV faces another struggle as shareholders prepare to block the appointment of Sir Crispin Davis as its new chairman. Ex-Reed Elsevier chief executive Davis and former Channel 4 chairman Sir Michael Bishop are said to be ITV’s favourites for the role. However, it is understood that some shareholders are against Davis as a [...]
Brown and out in Brighton, but the bets are still on September 27, 2009 WITH the prime minister Gordon Brown being asked on television yesterday whether he is on “pills” on the day the Labour Party conference began, the pressure is mounting on the PM. Although he doesn’t have too many close friends at the moment (except Peter Mandelson, naturally) the chances that he will stand down before the [...]
…as police gas protesters September 24, 2009 RIOT police in Pittsburgh fired tear gas at anti-capitalist protesters yesterday as up to 2,000 activists barricaded the streets in an unauthorised demonstration. Police told the protest group, calling itself G20 Project Resistance, to disperse after they gathered a few hundred metres away from the convention centre. But the demonstrators reacted angrily, using rubbish bins [...]
Rolet plans to take LSE on the offensive September 24, 2009 THE LONDON Stock Exchange’s new chief executive Xavier Rolet yesterday said that he would consider acquisitions as part of an aggressive push to regain market share. Rolet, who was facing analysts for the first time since taking over the role in May, said that the LSE intended to be “offensive, not defensive” in the fight [...]
At 89, the champion of horse thrillers has finally slowed down September 23, 2009 EVEN MONEYBY DICK FRANCIS AND FELIX FRANCISMichael Joseph, £18.99 THE action opens at a racecourse – where else? Ned Talbot, an independent bookie, is at Royal Ascot drawing to the end of an unlucky day in which the punters keep winning. As with many Francis heroes, Ned’s feeling a bit weary with life. His wife [...]
Low energy sends Wall Street down September 21, 2009 THE DOW industrials and the S&P 500 index fell yesterday as a drop in oil and other commodity prices hurt energy and materials stocks. But the Nasdaq rose, buoyed by a broker’s upgrade in the biotechnology sector. Light crude futures fell more than 3 per cent, hurt by concerns about demand despite hopes for economic [...]