| CATEGORY: PRESS ROUND-UP SHORT SECTOR: MEDIA |
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Ford, Vauxhall to lift prices |
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Tue 03 Feb 2009
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Ford and Vauxhall are to raise the prices of their cars in the UK because of sterling's fall in value.
Analysts said that Ford and General Motors Europe, which owns Vauxhall, were "sending a message" to the Government about the state of the UK economy and the car industry, warning that inflation remains a serious concern. In an interview, a Ford spokesman said the company had raised prices by an average of 4.75% from Monday, including a 5.2% increase on the UK's best-selling car, the Ford Focus. Vauxhall said it will unveil a range of price increases later this month, reports the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, British car sales are expected to show a drop of about 30% when January figures are published later this week, The Times has learnt. The fall in sales for last month is sharper than expected after a decline of between 20 and 23% in recent months.
The Australian government has unveiled a second multi-billion dollar stimulus package that it hopes will lift the country out of a deepening slowdown and protect-against a full-blown recession. Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, announced the $42bn plan just hours before the country's central bank, citing the grimmest global outlook in many years, cut interest rates by 1% to 3.25% - its lowest level in 45 years, reports the Telegraph.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was warned in 2005 not to give the go-ahead for the Icelandic bank Kaupthing’s acquisition of Singer & Friedlander, the British merchant bank, by its then chief executive. Tony Shearer, who ran Singer & Friedlander Group until November 2005, will tomorrow tell the Treasury Select Committee that he and other executives at the London-based bank told the FSA that Kaupthing’s management were “not fit and proper” to control a UK bank, reports the Times.
The Financial Times, owned by Pearson, is suing Blackstone accusing the US investment group of deliberately encouraging its staff to share a single login to the FT.com website in order to avoid paying for multiple subscriptions. The lawsuit, filed in New York, accuses Blackstone of “intentionally, knowingly and recklessly” distributing details of an FT.com login to its staff, reports the Times.
UBS signalled its willingness to take dramatic steps to overhaul its business in response to the financial crisis by holding talks late last year with Morgan Stanley over the sale of its US brokerage unit. People close to the situation said the discussions over UBS Financial Services – acquired in 2000 in the $11.8bn purchase of PaineWebber, the US brokerage and investment bank – were preliminary and were unlikely to be rekindled, writes the FT.
Funds raised in European equity issues could reach as much as €300bn ($386bn) in 2009, bankers and analysts are forecasting, as companies attempt to shore up their balance sheets in the face of the financial crisis. The sharp increase in issues seen this year is likely to accelerate, with funds raised in 2009 expected to reach the highest level since 2001, reports the FT.
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost airline, is in early talks with Boeing and Airbus about an order for 300-400 short-haul jets, one of the biggest ever purchases of new aircraft. Michael Cawley, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer for Ryanair, said on Monday that he expected the group to place the order within 18-24 months to take advantage of the weakening commercial aerospace market, reports the FT.
Woolworths is to be relaunched as an online business this summer after the brand was bought by Shop Direct Group in a deal that kills any lingering hopes of reviving the pic'n'mix retailer on the high street. The home shopping retailer Shop Direct, which is owned by the Barclay brothers, the business tycoons, has also bought the childrenswear brand Ladybird from Woolworth Group, reports the Independent.
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