JJB Sports gets unlikely share boost from Gates July 16, 2009 In a bizarre turn-around, beleaguered retailer JJB Sports yesterday revealed that billionaire Bill Gates had taken a stake in the embattled company. The Microsoft tycoon made the acquisition through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organisation created to “help all people lead healthy, productive lives”. On Tuesday, the foundation, which is also backed [...]
US jobless claimants come down July 16, 2009 The number of Americans lining up for jobless benefits tumbled in the last week, a decline seen as distorted by upheaval in the car industry, while a key regional factory index slipped in July, reports showed yesterday. At the same time, US home foreclosures raced to a record high in the first half of 2009, [...]
Tottenham tycoon Joe Lewis gets his ally a seat on pub group M&B’s board July 16, 2009 JOE Lewis, the Bahamas based billionaire who controls football club Tottenham Hotspur, yesterday won his battle to gain a seat on the board of pub group Mitchells & Butler (M&B). Lewis has appointed Richard McGuire, a former Citigroup investment banker, as a non-executive on the board after passing the stake threshold needed for a board [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WERE AUTONOMY’S RESULTS ALL POSITIVE? July 16, 2009 JULIAN YATES INVESTECThe results were slightly behind our expectations, but ahead of consensus. Deferred revenue is at record levels but was helped by the Interwoven acquisition and was actually below the level we expected. Overall, there is little in these results to encourage us to change our “hold” stance on the shares. ROGER PHILLIPS EVOLUTION [...]
Shoplifting rises in recession July 16, 2009 More than 90 per cent of retailers say retail crime has increased over the last 12 months and more than four fifths believe the rise has been caused by the recession, according to figures released yesterday by the British Retail Consortium. The findings were at odds with figures from the British Crime Survey, also published [...]
Morgan Sindall lands second win July 16, 2009 Construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall announced its second contract win of the week, as its affordable housing specialist Lovell bagged a £24m contract with the East Midlands Housing Group. The £24m contract is for the refurbishment of more than 2,200 homes in the Blaby district of south-west Leicestershire.
Ryanair to add routes to Oslo July 16, 2009 Budget airline Ryanair said yesterday it was adding seven new routes to and from Oslo airport, as it seeks to avoid passing on fuel surcharges to passengers. Ryanair’s new routes from Oslo (Rygge) to Alicante, Barcelona (Girona), Brussels (Charleroi), Bremen, London (Stansted), Madrid and Milan (Bergamo), will take off in October, and will fly more [...]
Berlin and US at loggerheads over GM July 16, 2009 GENERAL MOTORS (GM) and Berlin were at loggerheads yesterday, as the debate over who should buy the US company’s European arm, made up of Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in the UK. Germany said yesterday it may renege on its offer of state aid if the US company, which came out of bankruptcy last week, [...]
Airlines hit by premium slump July 16, 2009 AIRLINES, deserted by premium class passengers, are gloomy about the prospects for the coming year and some do not expect recovery until early 2011, according to a trade body. The International Air Transport Association said fears of a prolonged recession and resurgent fuel prices had caused “renewed pessimism” for operators, which delivered their gloomiest ever [...]
Lloyds cuts a further 1,200 jobs July 16, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group said it is cutting 1,200 jobs in its group operations and insurance business, taking its layoffs to over 8,000 since it bought rival HBOS in January. Lloyds, 43-per cent owned by the government, yesterday announced a net reduction in staff of around 650 permanent roles by the end of March 2010. The [...]