Ford in July sales uptick August 2, 2009 BELEAGUERED US carmaker Ford said last night it sold more cars in July than the same month last year, its first year-on-year sales rise since November 2007. The group will today become the first major US automaker to report a sales rise since the financial crisis kicked off, thanks to a surge of orders under [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 2, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphDSG CHAIR ABANDONS CRYSTAL BALLThe outgoing chairman of DSG International, the Currys owner, has described the reduction in the retailer’s market size as “painful” and admitted he failed to see the downturn coming. Sir John Collins said he told John Browett, the electrical retailer’s chief executive, not to worry about the prospect [...]
AstraZeneca plans move to W2 August 2, 2009 Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is ditching its Mayfair offices to move to Paddington, it is thought, as it looks to slash its costs to weather the downturn. The firm is set to join Rio Tinto and Norwegian oil firm Statoil at the W2 hub, as FTSE 100 giants like J Sainsbury also consider moving their offices.
WTO calls signs of trade revival August 2, 2009 The World Trade Organisation, the Geneva-based international trade regulator, said a $250bn (£150bn) package of financial aid to revive the global system is starting to take effect, especially in Asia. Director-general Pascal Lamy said trade is picking up, although the WTO is maintaining its forecast of a 10 per cent contraction this year.
Grey panther made head of APA August 2, 2009 Former Credit Suisse banker Jeremy Bennett has been named as interim head of the Asset Protection Agency (APA), which runs the government’s £600m toxic bank asset scheme. Bennett was one of the “grey panther” regulators at the Financial Services Authority, who prowl insurers looking for rules failures.
King calls for strict stance on regulation August 2, 2009 BANK of England governor Mervyn King said yesterday that tougher measures on banking regulation were still needed, and added that some bonuses being paid to executives were “absolutely astronomic” and could not be justified. “Executives at the top are earning vast sums, beyond the dreams of ordinary people, for doing a job which it’s very [...]
RBS nails down its Asian asset sell-off August 2, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland was closing in on a sale of its Asian assets yesterday, as it emerged Australian bank ANZ is likely to pay A$1.1bn (£549m) for its operations in six Asian areas. ANZ said yesterday talks are “progressing well” over an asset purchase, including RBS’ operations in Taiwan. RBS, which is set to [...]
DOME DEAL August 2, 2009 WEALTHY Cambridge College, Trinity, is believed to be in talks with the owners of the O2 entertainment complex over a £20m deal.Quintain and Lend Lease own a 999 year lease for the Greenwich based centre, formerly known as the Millennium Dome, but have appointed investment agents to work on a sale.
Administrations up 18 per cent August 2, 2009 The number of firms in financial trouble rose by 18 per cent in the first half of the year, compared to the first half of 2008, as the financial crisis presented an increasingly hostile environment for business. Research from Deloitte shows more firms collapsed but the rate of collapse is slowing, with the number of [...]
Virgin Galactic to launch satellites August 2, 2009 Virgin Galactic, the space tourism venture being developed by Sir Richard Branson, is to offer a satellite launcher on its WhiteKnightTwo spacecraft as an extra revenue stream. The company, that plans to offer low-earth orbit excursions for the ultra-rich, is working with UK-based firm Surrey Small Satellites to offer the ability to put a 200kg [...]