Farnborough struck by industry gloom July 15, 2008 Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways was the talk of the Farnborough Airshow yesterday after it unveiled a $20bn (£10bn) order for 100 planes – but it was a quiet debut for Europe’s biggest industry show. Etihad CEO James Hogan said the airline had placed orders for 35 787 Dreamliners and 10 777s from America’s Boeing for [...]
Inflation surge bites July 15, 2008 Bank of England rate setters face another tough decision as fresh evidence emerges that soaring inflation and sluggish high street sales continues to put pressure on consumer’s pockets and the wider economy. Prices charged by manufacturers at the factory fate rose by 10 per cent in June – the highest rate since comparable records began, [...]
Interest rate fears as gas prices surge July 1, 2008 Centrica hikes prices by record 35 per cent in move that will further squeeze consumers British Gas owner Centrica said yesterday it would raise gas prices by a record 35 per cent and electricity prices by 9 per cent as it passes on rising energy costs to householders. The country’s largest energy supplier, with 16m [...]
Boomtime for Credit Suisse November 3, 2005 Credit Suisse became the latest big bank to report soaring profits on the back of stronger financial markets. The Swiss bank reported a 42 per cent rise in third quarter profits to Sfr1.92bn (£846m) thanks to growth across its investment banking, private banking and asset management divisions. Oswald Grübel, chief executive, called the results “satisfactory”. [...]
Jobs cutting will speed up, says CBI October 27, 2005 Manufactures expect to cut jobs over the next quarter at a faster rate than the last three months to October, according to the CBI. “The decline in headcount was broadly in line with expectations, though firms expect to cut jobs at a moderately faster rate over the next three months,” the business group announced in [...]
Bank warns of hard times October 26, 2005 Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the British economy is about to embark on a bumpy ride over the coming years after the stability enjoyed in recent times. At a hearing in front of a House of Lords parliamentary committee, King said people should not expect the Bank to “fine tune the [...]
Oil prices lift Hydro October 26, 2005 Norwegian energy and metals business Norsk Hydro said its third-quarter net income rose 69 per cent on the back of rising oil and gas prices, despite rising costs in its aluminium business. This year oil prices have risen about 45 per cent and gas prices 27 per cent, which contributed to the company’s net income [...]
US suffers shock inflation increase October 19, 2005 Inflation trends differed markedly on either side of the Atlantic yesterday, with the American producer prices (PPI) confounding analysts with their biggest gain in 15 years, but Britain got off lightly with a consumer price index (CPI) level of just 2.5 per cent. The American PPI shot up by 1.9 per cent on last month, [...]
Terra Firma bid goes on October 18, 2005 The Takeover Panel told financier Guy Hands yesterday that his investment vehicle Terra Firma could not back out of a £453m bid to buy power business East Surrey Holdings. Kellen Acquisitions, which is wholly owned by Terra Firma, had been trying to back out of an offer that it made on 8 April to buy [...]