OFT launches inquiry into cigarette price-fixing
Smokers may have been overcharged for cigarettes after the Office of Fair
Trading (OFT) accused two big tobacco companies and 11 retailers of alleged
unlawful co-ordination of prices. GDP slumps to slowest pace in three years
The economy grew at its slowest pace for three years during the first quarter
because of stuttering growth in the UK services sector. WPP reports slow March despite US resilience
WPP acknowledged today that growth during March was slower than expected
despite strong sales from a resilient US advertising market. North Sea oil pipeline set to close ahead of strike
The Forties pipeline system, which pumps crude oil from the North Sea, is set
to shut down tonight, as 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery in
Scotland prepare to walk out in a dispute over pensions. Cars and kitchens tempt Indian housebuyers
Free cars and mortgage-free living are being dangled in front of house-hunters
in Bangalore as developers battle to halt a property slump in India''s
Silicon Valley. Major threat to building jobs as Persimmon closes new sites
The construction industry is braced for tens of thousands of job cuts after
Persimmon, the country’s biggest housebuilder, said it would stop building
on new sites until market conditions improve. Barclays holds open possibility of a rights issue
Barclays held open the possibility of a rights issue yesterday but hinted that
it was seeking other ways of beefing up its balance sheet. High street''s boom figures under question
A controversy emerged yesterday over the true state of high street sales as
the City joined retailers to attack official figures that indicated a
shopping bonanza since the new year. House of Lords to rule on BAE corruption inquiry
The Serious Fraud Office is to challenge the ruling that it must rethink the
halting of its investigation into a £43 billion arms deals between BAE
Systems and Saudi Arabia. Microsoft considers hostile bid for Yahoo!
Microsoft, the world''s biggest software maker, is considering launching a
hostile bid for Yahoo! as early next week if Yahoo! does not begin talks
soon, chief financial officer, Chris Liddell, said yesterday after the
world’s biggest software maker reported an 11 per cent drop in its
third-quarter profit to $4.39 billion.$ Ericsson profits halve on falling phone sales
Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile telecoms equipment manufacturer, today
announced first-quarter profits down 55 per cent to a five-year low as it
joined its rivals in reporting falling demand for handsets. European airlines face squeeze on profit
The American airline industry lost $1.5 billion ($£760 million) in the first
three months of the year and fears are growing that European carriers will
be the next to feel the pain. SocGen Rogue trader Jerome Kerviel finds new role with the IT crowd
Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader accused of losing almost €5 billion (3.7
billion) at Société Générale, is back in work – although not in a trading
room. Need to know
Economics Why build houses if the mortgages aren’t available?
Given that the number of mortgages approved in March was down by almost half
on last year, you might have suspected that things had gone a bit quiet for
Britain’s housebuilders.
