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Europeans angry at Ryanair move
Add : 15:23:48 2008-08-18
View : 73 | Vote : 5 |
Tag : Business Companies Europeans angry Ryanair move Spain transport ministry
Spain's transport ministry has opened an investigation into Ryanair's move to cancel thousands of bookings made via third party internet travel agents.
Ryanair says the sales, which represent about a thousand bookings a day, are illegal.
But the decision, in the height of the summer travel season, has been criticised by consumer groups.
Italy's transport minister called it "another deplor... |
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Thomas Cook defies economic slump
Add : 15:21:09 2008-08-18
View : 94 | Vote : 1 |
Tag : Business Companies Thomas Cook holidays despite economic slowdown
Thomas Cook says it has seen no evidence of consumers cutting back on holidays despite the economic slowdown.
The firm says trading has been robust this summer and bookings for winter and next summer are set to be strong.
Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said destinations outside the eurozone, such as Turkey and Egypt, had proved to be popular.
A strong euro has deterred m... |
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Wal-Mart to invest $1bn in Brazil
Add : 15:19:11 2008-08-18
View : 87 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Wal-Mart invest Brazil Wal-Mart world largest retailer Wal-Mart
The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, says it will invest some 1.8bn reais ($1.1bn; £588m) to expand in Brazil.
The firm said it would open between 80 and 90 stores in 2009 in Latin America's largest country.
Wal-Mart, which opened its first outlet in Brazil in 1995, has 318 stores there and a local workforce of 70,000.
The announcement followed a meeting between the head of the firm's... |
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Bargain hunters boost TJX profits
Add : 15:16:51 2008-08-18
View : 67 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies TK Maxx Europe TJ Maxx chain TJ Maxx
TJX, which owns the TJ Maxx chain, has reported strong growth in quarterly profits and raised its annual forecast.
The firm made a profit of $200.2m (£105.2) in the three months to 26 July, from $59m a year ago.
However, last year's figure included a post-tax charge of $118m to cover a security breach when hackers accessed customers' card numbers and passwords.
TJX operates eight busines... |
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Talks off for Commonwealth Bank
Add : 15:14:40 2008-08-18
View : 81 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Talks off Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Australia
Australia's largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has pulled out of talks to buy ABN Amro's Australian and New Zealand operations.
The move was prompted by worries over raising the funding for the 777m Australian dollar ($676m; £355m) deal.
Australian interest rates are at a 12-year high, prompting banks to increase provisions for bad loans.
Analysts said that this was making... |
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Credit Suisse receives £5.6m fine
Add : 15:12:57 2008-08-18
View : 73 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Credit Suisse receives Financial Services Authority
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the UK arm of Credit Suisse £5.6m for mis-pricing some asset-backed securities.
The breaches involved Credit Suisse's Structured Credit Group (SCG) which specialised in complex, high-risk financial products.
The FSA said the bank had failed to recognise for five months that some of SCG's valuations were wrong.
Credit Suisse said it had com... |
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British Energy sees profits fall
Add : 15:10:35 2008-08-18
View : 62 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies British Energy sees profits fall British Energy quarterly profits
British Energy has reported a 66% drop in quarterly profits, hit by falls in production from the group's ageing nuclear power stations.
The firm made profit before tax of £101m for the three months to 29 June, compared with £296m a year ago.
British Energy said it had benefited from higher power prices but output fell because of plant closures.
The firm said that "advanced discussions" ... |
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Genentech turns down Roche offer
Add : 15:08:08 2008-08-18
View : 57 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies US firm Genentech BMO Capital Markets
US firm Genentech has rejected an offer from Swiss form Roche to buy the remaining shares in the firm it does not already own for $43.7bn (£23.3bn).
Roche, which has been the majority owner of Genentech since 1990 and owns 55.9% of shares, offered $89 per share for the outstanding stock in July.
Genetech's rejection had been expected by analysts saying it was too low.
But the firm said i... |
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Chrysler plans $1.8bn investment
Add : 15:06:01 2008-08-18
View : 59 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Chrysler plans investment Chrysler new vehicle projects
Chrysler has announced plans to invest $1.8bn (£964m) in new vehicle projects and plans to expand plant in Detroit.
Expanding the Jefferson North plant will allow more flexibility and higher output, said the firm.
The expansion will also create 400 jobs, said Chrysler's president Tom LaSorda during a car event in Michigan.
The news comes as the car manufacturer has embarked on cost cutti... |
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No money for Wrapit customers
Add : 15:03:36 2008-08-18
View : 65 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies No money Wrapit customers Customers collapsed wedding gift
Customers of collapsed wedding gift list operator Wrapit are unlikely to get any money back from the business, the administrators have said.
They said funds were unlikely to be available to customers without presents or Wrapit's staff and its suppliers.
No buyer has been found for the business, which was founded by a former journalist in 2000 but ceased trading on 4 August, owing millions of... |
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TUI enjoys strong holiday demand
Add : 15:01:05 2008-08-18
View : 60 | Vote : 1 |
Tag : Business Companies TUI Travel TUI enjoys strong holiday TUI holiday
TUI Travel, which owns Thomson and First Choice, says demand for package holidays remains strong despite the strong euro and the economic downturn.
The firm said there was no evidence that consumers were trading down or curtailing their holidays.
But TUI said it was cutting capacity in coming seasons to "retain flexibility" should the economic slowdown begin to change consumers' holiday plan... |
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Flat UK sales hit Inbev earnings
Add : 14:57:59 2008-08-18
View : 61 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Flat UK sales hit Inbev earnings Stella Artois brewer Inbev saw UK
Stella Artois brewer Inbev saw UK sales fall 4.1% between April and June, but said it had increased market share after being less badly hit than rivals.
The Belgian firm, which last month had a $52bn (£26bn) takeover bid accepted by Anheuser-Busch, also saw overall earnings in Western European fall 9%.
Inbev said that it was "far from satisfied" with European profits of 195m euros (£155m; ... |
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Budget shoppers boosting Wal-Mart
Add : 14:54:48 2008-08-18
View : 73 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Budget shoppers boosting Wal-Mart US shoppers heading
The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has reported a 17% rise in quarterly profits after US shoppers heading to its stores in search of cheap goods.
Wal-Mart said net income in the three months to 31 July rose to $3.45bn (£1.8bn), up from $2.95bn last year.
It also upped its full-year earnings outlook, with shoppers expected to seek low prices on food and other items in the face of inflat... |
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Record profits for BHP Billiton
Add : 14:52:29 2008-08-18
View : 74 | Vote : 0 |
Tag : Business Companies Mining giant BHP Billiton Record profits BHP Billiton
Mining giant BHP Billiton has announced record annual profits for the seventh consecutive year on the back of surging commodity prices.
The Anglo-Australian firm saw profits rise by 12.4% to $15.4bn (£8.2bn) in the year to the end of June.
BHP predicted that demand for commodities would remain strong in the longer term, but said the global economy would slow in the near term.
The EU is c... |
