Why the London Stock Exchange’s French boss is taking on the world February 14, 2010 L ONDON’s financial services community has a new champion: Xavier Rolet, the 50-year old French banker who took over as the London Stock Exchange’s CEO last year. Unlike many British commentators, who seem desperate to talk down one the UK’s most important industries, Rolet realises how important a prosperous City is to the UK and [...]
Renault hit by €3bn loss after crisis year February 11, 2010 FRENCH carmaker Renault posted a wider-than-expected yearly net loss yesterday and fought shy of predicting a profit in 2010, sending its shares down more than five per cent. Renault , maker of the Twingo, Clio and Modus models, expects economic conditions to remain tough in 2010 and sees a 10 per cent drop in the [...]
THE NEW YORK REPORT February 9, 2010 THE Dow posted its largest one-day percentage gain in three months yesterday, boosted by reports of an aid plan for heavily indebted Greece. A senior German ruling coalition source said euro zone governments have decided in principle to help Greece, comments that calmed investors worried about a threat to global economic stability. “There’s a relief [...]
Prius hybrid callback continues to hit brand February 9, 2010 YOUGOV’s BrandIndex shows a steep fall in Toyota’s reputation with consumers following a series of recent recalls of their vehicles. The company has been plagued by a number of problems concerning the reliability of their brakes, accelerator pedals and floor mats. PRIUS HYBRID RECALL EXTENDS Yesterday’s announcement of further recalls of the Prius Hybrid is [...]
Polo Ralph Lauren’s Duffy jumps on board at Celtic February 8, 2010 LIFE-LONG Celtic fan Brian Duffy has joined the board of the Scottish Premier League club as an independent non-executive director. London-based Duffy is group president, Europe, of the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. He joined Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation in 2003 as president and chief operating officer, Europe, from the Sara Lee Corporation where he held [...]
Military will get smaller February 3, 2010 THE Army could be merged with the Royal Air Force, under radical new plans put forward by the government yesterday. Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth also said that a cull in the number of top officers and a coalition with the French army were on the cards ahead of a post-election spending review that will put [...]
Munich Re ups dividend after solid year in 2009 February 2, 2010 MUNICH RE posted forecast-beating full-year results yesterday boosted by a fortuitous combination of unusually low disaster claims and the momentum from a post-crisis revival on financial markets. The world’s biggest reinsurer, in which US investor Warren Buffett has amassed a stake of more than five per cent, reported preliminary 2009 net profit of €2.56bn (£2.24bn), [...]
Ryanair ups annual profit forecast February 1, 2010 BUDGET airline Ryanair increased its profit forecast for the year after posting a smaller than expected third-quarter loss yesterday. Europe’s biggest low-cost airline said a drop in fuel prices had helped to improve the company’s figures. Ryanair’s loss of €10.9m (£9.5m) in the three months to the end of December compared with a €118.8m net [...]
When divorcees turn private detective February 1, 2010 TWO recent, high-profile divorce cases have highlighted long running issue of what are the acceptable lengths a party can go to when they are convinced that their ex is hiding or undervaluing assets which they believe should be part of a divorce settlement. The first involves the chef Marco Pierre White, who has been given [...]
City firms at heart of new venture fund January 31, 2010 THE Government is putting City investment firms at the heart of revised proposals to boost small businesses, it emerged at the weekend. In a change from previous plans that would have created a national network of investing offices, the Department for Business plans to inject private investment and public cash into a fund-of-funds that would [...]