Thomas Cook seals £1.4bn refunding package May 8, 2012 Thomas Cook has announced a refinancing package of £1.4bn giving the struggling travel company a further three years to sort out its debt pile. The company said the new arrangement gave it “greater financial flexibility” and “further stability”.
Deutsche Post beats first quarter forecasts May 8, 2012 Deutsche Post reported better than expected quarterly results and confirmed its outlook, citing its strong express delivery and supply chain business in Asia. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were up 9.9 per cent at 691m euros (£557m) in the three months through April, beating a consensus forecast of 656m euros in a Reuters poll. [...]
TUI forecasts strong summer May 8, 2012 TUI Travel, the world’s biggest tour operator, said it was on track to meet expectations for the full-year and that it expects to deliver a strong performance in its key summer trading period. The group, which owns Thomson and First Choice, said it made an underlying operating loss of £317m in the six months to [...]
Aviva boss quits after pay revolt May 8, 2012 Insurer Aviva, hit last week by one of the biggest pay revolts ever suffered by a British company, said its chief executive Andrew Moss had stepped down with immediate effect. The group said he would be replaced by Chairman Designate John McFarlane in the interim. Moss had told the company that he believed it was [...]
US unemploymnet rate falls May 4, 2012 Employers decreased hiring for the second straight month in April but the unemployment rate still fell to 8.1 percent, giving mixed messages about the economy’s strength ahead of President Barack Obama’s November re-election bid. Employers added 115,000 workers to their payrolls last month, the Labor Department said. The reading keeps fears alive that the US [...]
BNP Paribas profit rises May 4, 2012 BNP Paribas, France’s No. 1 listed bank, posted a rise in first-quarter profits on the back of its windfall from the sale of shares in Klepierre, even as a slowing European economy and one-off costs hit operations. BNP reported net income of 2.87bn euros (£2.3bn), up 9.6 per cent from a year-ago figure of 2.62bn. [...]
UK company insolvencies rise May 4, 2012 Company insolvencies in England and Wales rose by an annual 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2012 to their highest level since late 2009, official data showed on Friday, raising doubts about the health of the economy. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said that 4,303 businesses went into liquidation in the first [...]
Eurozone service sector slumps May 4, 2012 The Eurozone’s vast services sector shrivelled at a much faster rate in April than initially thought, a business survey showed, suggesting that the bloc’s recession could extend through to mid-year. The final reading of April’s Markit Eurozone Services PMI came in at 46.9, a full point lower than the preliminary reading of 47.9 reported two [...]
RBS on road to recovery as profit rises May 4, 2012 State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland said it was on the path to recovery as it reported a better-than-expected first-quarter operating profit and a big reduction in its balance sheet. RBS, which is 82 per cent owned by the government after being rescued during the 2008 financial crisis, on Friday reported a first quarter operating profit [...]
ECB holds interest rate at 1pc May 3, 2012 The European Central Bank (ECB) has has frozen its interest rate at one per cent again. The bank has left rates unchanged since November.
