GOODHART: IF I WERE ON TODAY’S MPC, I’D WANT TO BE PUT TO SLEEP August 3, 2010 ATTENDEES at the London School of Economics’ (LSE) monetary policy conference yesterday morning were treated to an A-list talking heads line-up, with former members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Sir John Gieve and Charles Goodhart joining Fitch Ratings’ Brian Coulton to discuss interest rates. Unfortunately, the audience was not about to flatter its illustrious [...]
Easyjet row turns nasty July 28, 2010 A BITTER war of words broke out between easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the budget airline over its poor punctuality yesterday adding fresh fuel to ongoing tensions over their branding agreement. Stelios, who quit the board in May in a row over strategy but whose private holding company, easyGroup, owns the “easy” brand and [...]
Analysts warn over easyJet dispute July 21, 2010 ANALYSTS have warned that the bitter dispute between easyJet owner Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the budget airline could “undermine the value of the company’s shares”. A note issued by stockbroking group Numis yesterday said that the ongoing argument over the use of the “easy” brand makes it “difficult to see marginal new investors being enticed [...]
Sir Stelios to meet easyJet in High Court June 13, 2010 EASYJET founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou will come face to face with the budget airline today in front of a High Court judge over an ongoing branding dispute. Haji-Ioannou, who is expected to give evidence either tomorrow or Wednesday, is taking on the airline he set up more than 15 years ago over a branding licence [...]
Stelios offers £3m peace deal May 23, 2010 EASYJET founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has offered to drop his branding case against the budget airline if it agrees to pay him £3m a year in royalties, it has emerged. It is understood that Haji-Ioannou made the proposal, which would equate to 0.1 per cent of easyJet’s annual revenue, to the airline’s board last month. [...]
Stelios set to launch battle with easyJet May 16, 2010 A BITTER dispute between Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and budget airline easyJet escalated over the weekend after it emerged that the easyGroup owner plans to campaign shareholders to join his revolt against the airline’s fleet expansion plans. Haji-Ioannou is meeting this week with some of the airline’s largest shareholders, including Schroders, Standard Life and Capital Research, [...]
EasyJet hit by £75m ash cloud losses May 11, 2010 EASYJET swallowed up to £75m in losses during the six-day volcanic ash crisis, forcing the budget airline to revise its yearly profit forecasts. The Luton-based carrier said that pre-tax profits for the year are likely to come in between £100m and £150m as a result of the Icelandic volcano, marking a drop from the groups [...]
Dow breaks through the 11,000 mark April 12, 2010 THE Dow industrials closed above 11,000 for the first time in almost 19 months yesterday, spurred by buying in financial, energy and industrial sectors. It briefly topped that level on Friday but closed just short. The S&P 500, which is up 7.2 per cent since the start of the year, rose to within one point [...]
EasyJet creator to battle airline on brand pact April 12, 2010 EASYJET founder and owner of easyGroup, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is set to face the airline he started in court over a brand licensing dispute. EasyJet and easyGroup will stand before a High Court judge this week and argue over an agreement the two made in 2000 when easyJet floated. Haji-Ioannou is looking for a court [...]
Osborne ups the ante in job tax stand-off April 5, 2010 SHADOW chancellor George Osborne yesterday stepped up his attack on the government over plans to hike national insurance contributions (NICs), claiming the “job tax” would be the fastest way to reverse the budding economic recovery. George Osborne also insisted that the Tories have no plans for further tax rises, despite repeated claims from Labour that [...]