BApassenger numbers fall September 3, 2009 BRITISH Airways yesterday posted a slight decline in passenger traffic numbers during the month of August, despite last month saying it expected volumes to improve over the summer after a July spike. The airline carried 0.7 per cent fewer passengers in August than in the same month a year ago, while premium passenger numbers took [...]
ITV investors oppose Davis September 27, 2009 Embattled broadcaster ITV faces another struggle as shareholders prepare to block the appointment of Sir Crispin Davis as its new chairman. Ex-Reed Elsevier chief executive Davis and former Channel 4 chairman Sir Michael Bishop are said to be ITV’s favourites for the role. However, it is understood that some shareholders are against Davis as a [...]
Four years of turbulence in business life October 22, 2009 SPONSOR’S LETTER In the four years since it was launched, City A.M. has reported on the highs and lows of a remarkably turbulent period in the business world.There has been no shortage of crises to cover and trends to examine. No-one in September 2005 would have predicted the extraordinary events in economic history that we [...]
UK plc doing better than in past slumps November 1, 2009 THERE are many reasons why the stock market has bounced back, despite the severity of the recession. The fact that corporate earnings didn’t collapse as much as originally feared is one such explanation, as highlighted this weekend by Lombard Street Research. The operating profits of UK companies have fallen 8.4 per cent from their peak, [...]
OFT SENDING OUT MESSAGE TO BUSINESS September 22, 2009 MICHAEL GRENFELLCOMPETITION LAW PARTNER AT NORTON ROSE LLP THE huge fines imposed yesterday by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on UK construction companies for cartel activity send a strong signal to British business generally: the authorities will penalise anti-competitive behaviour, even in a recession. The fines totalling £129.5m on 103 construction firms for bid [...]
Traffic drops at Air France as slump hits October 7, 2009 AIR FRANCE-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, yesterday said its traffic for September fell 3.7 per cent year-on-year, and reported continued pressure on revenues. But the Franco-Dutch carrier said it had boosted its load factor, a measure of how full its planes are. The airline carried 6.2m passengers in September, down 5.3 per cent on 2008, while [...]
Talks between BA and Iberia take off after summer break September 15, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) chief financial officer Keith Wiliams said yesterday that talks with Spanish flag carrier Iberia had stepped up a gear, over a year after a possible tie-up was first announced. In a weekly newsletter, Williams told staff : “We have met the Iberia management team on a few occasions now and the talks [...]
Talks between BA and Iberia take off after summer break September 15, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) chief financial officer Keith Wiliams said yesterday that talks with Spanish flag carrier Iberia had stepped up a gear, over a year after a possible tie-up was first announced. In a weekly newsletter, Williams told staff : “We have met the Iberia management team on a few occasions now and the talks [...]
City airport set to launch first NY flight September 27, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) is launching its business class only London to New York service tomorrow, despite the massive slump in business and first class travel that has resulted from the downturn. The service, which will run from London City airport, will cost those wanting a return trip, in a fully-flat bed, on one of two [...]
Weak banks and miners pull FTSEdown by one per cent October 26, 2009 THE FTSE 100 share index ended 1 per cent lower yesterday, with mining and energy stocks suffering as the US dollar rose and commodity prices fell, while a sharp decline in ING put pressure on financials. The index ended down 50.83 points at 5,191.74, having risen as high as 5,281.12 earlier in the session. It [...]