News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

LULA LINKS WITH LONDON

November 4, 2009

BRAZILIAN president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived in London yesterday for a two-day investment aimed at attracting investment in the South American country. While here, he will have an audience with the Queen, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and receive an award from think-tank Chatham House for “the most significant contribution to the improvement of [...]
Brokers back in High Court

November 4, 2009

INTER-dealer broker BGC Partners yesterday said rival Tullett Prebon’s ploy to obtain a lengthy injunction against the recruitment of its staff was an unprecedented attempt to block competition in the industry, as the two resumed their bitter battle in the High Court. Tullett is seeking an injunction to prevent BGC from negotiating any forward contracts [...]
Job cuts for BmibabyJob cuts for Bmibaby

November 4, 2009

BMI’S new boss Wolfgang Prock-Shauer kicked off his leadership of the airline with a bang yesterday, announcing 158 job losses at the carriers budget arm, Bmibaby. Cabin crew, pilots and management will be hit at Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports as the airline restructures, with 82, 54 and 22 jobs going respectively. Operations will be [...]
Selling Opel would leave ‘serious gap’

November 4, 2009

GENERAL Motors directors narrowly opted to retain Opel instead of selling the European unit to a group led by Canada’s Magna International because they believed losing it could have left a significant gap in its operations, a senior GM executive said yesterday. John Smith, a group vice president and chief negotiator in the Opel restructuring, [...]
Ad falls hit revenues at NewsCorp

November 4, 2009

NEWS Corp last night reported lower revenues because of advertising declines at its television stations and newspapers, while profit rose because of a stronger performance at its cable television, film and book units as well as cost cuts. The international media conglomerate’s first quarter 2010 net income was $571m (£344m), or 22 cents a share, [...]
Ex HP boss Fiorina to run for Senate seat

November 4, 2009

FORMER Hewlett-Packard chairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina said yesterday that she intends to run as a Republican candidate for the California Senate. The Silicon Valley star will take on Liberal Democrat Barbara Boxer, who now holds the seat. She had set up a campaign account earlier this year, but announced her candidacy in an [...]
Rightmove in sales boost

November 4, 2009

RIGHTMOVE yesterday posted growth in revenue and earnings in the past quarter as the UK’s biggest property search website reported a 40 per cent increase in year-to-year traffic levels since August 2008. The property portal, which saw nearly 600m page impressions in August 2009, also reported a five per cent increase in the number of [...]
Greyhound dogs FirstGroup

November 4, 2009

FIRSTGROUP, the transport company which was rebuffed in its attempt to takeover National Express last month, yesterday said its profits had slumped as its iconic Greyhound bus service was hit by the downturn. FirstGroup, which launched a London-Southampton service bearing the Greyhound symbol in the UK earlier this year, said the unit’s operating profits slid [...]
MillerCoors profits up on cost control measures

November 4, 2009

MILLERCOORS, the second-biggest brewer in the US, yesterday reported a 28 per cent rise in third-quarter net income as it found an extra $200m (£121m) of cost savings resulting from its 2008 merger with SABMiller. The combined operation, which produces Miller Lite and Coors Light, said underlying net income in the quarter was $244.4m with [...]
Bloomberg is mayor of NYC for third time

November 4, 2009

NEW YORK mayor Michael Bloomberg was narrowly re-elected yesterday having changed the law to allow himself a third term in office and spent $100m (£60m) on campaign advertising. Bloomberg, 67, whose personal worth is estimated at $16bn, edged out Democratic rival Bill Thompson who spent $7m on his campaign, 13 times less than Bloomberg who [...]