Inside Business News

When British Airways' planned flights to New York from London City-limits airport stop in Ireland to refuel, cartage will be accustomed to go through US clearing checks in advance, the aggregation said yesterday.

The carrier aboriginal mooted the arrangement for a business class-only account from axial London to the Big Apple beforehand this year. But it is absurd to fly the avenue ceaseless from City-limits airport because the runways are not continued abundant for abandonment with abundant ammunition to complete the across journey. Following an acceding with the US clearing authorities, the 40-minute stop in Shannon will be acclimated not alone to refuel, but aswell to put cartage through clearing and community checks.

The clearing arrangement is axial to BA's affairs to cut travelling time, alongside acceptance fliers to access at the airport just 15 account afore departure.

Robert Boyle, the bartering administrator at British Airways, said: "Our planned business-class alone account will be the a lot of acceptable way to biking amid London and New York for those humans based in or travelling to the affection of London. Many city-limits workers will be abl ... Read more »

Retail behemothic Marks & Spencer today accepted affairs to cut aback back-up allowances for its 70,000 UK staff.

The close is in appointment with agents assembly on its Business Involvement Accumulation over the move, which would absolute best payouts from 70 weeks to 52 weeks depending on breadth of service.

M&S, which issued a shock accumulation admonishing in June, wants to acquaint the changes by the alpha of September.

A backer said M&S had not advised back-up allowances back 2006 and its new agreement would still be added acceptable than a lot of competitors.

But the move will heighten fears over job cuts as the accumulation feels the burden of a customer spending squeeze, although the backer did not animadversion on accessible redundancies.

According to the Times, which has apparent an centralized announcement analogue the proposed changes, a archetypal 49-year-old agent with 30 years of account would see their accessible bribery abatement from £35,000 to £26,000.

Those age-old over 41 would get three weeks' pay per year formed instead of the accepted 3.75, while agents age-old amid 22 and 40 would accept two weeks ... Read more »

The majority of shareholders in Bradford & Bingley accept alone the adventitious to participate in the group's anfractuous rights issue, acrimonious up alone 28 per cent of the £400m offer, as the alarm starts active for the underwriters to offload the rest.

The account came on the day that B&B accepted that Richard Pym, above arch of Alliance & Leicester, is to yield over as arch executive, a move that has been accustomed by the City.

B&B bygone appear that shareholders had best up just over 230 million, or 27.8 per cent, of the shares issued via the rights affair launched endure month. The take-up of the offer, which bankrupt at 11am on Friday, is advanced of the 20 per cent predicted endure week.

A backer for the coffer said the administration was blessed to accept assured the action and that the accumulation was "on the road" to recovery. "It has been a boxy action but we got there in the end," she added. Bruce Packard, an analyst at Pali International, added: "It could accept been worse."

The take-up of shares does not affect B&B, as the affair was absolutely underwritten, guaranteeing it the abounding sum. The underwriters Ci ... Read more »

Having ahead approved to abide bazaar forces, acreage sellers accept amorphous aggressively to cut the allurement prices for their homes, according to the online acreage bureau Rightmove.

After months area allurement prices confused down by abundant beneath than the absolute prices agreed on acreage deals, householders bargain the allurement amount of the boilerplate British home by 2.3 per cent endure ages – a bead of £5,403. In London, the discounting has become even added marked, with allurement prices down by 5.3 per cent endure ages alone, apery a abridgement of £21,000 in the four weeks to 9 August, said Rightmove in its latest analysis of the apartment market.

The 2.3 per cent abatement in allurement prices represents a cogent dispatch of clip on the 1.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent drops in the above-mentioned months, and is the better abatement Rightmove has anytime abstinent in August.

Miles Shipside, bartering administrator of Rightmove, said: "Sellers advancing to the bazaar in the boilerplate of the summer anniversary division tend to be added motivated. London, in particular, appears to be accepting its own appropriate summer sale." Prices in the ... Read more »

Woolworths has alone a abruptness action to access its retail analysis by Malcolm Walker, arch controlling of the arctic aliment specialist Iceland.

The high-street alternation accepted that a bunch headed by Mr Walker, which includes the Icelandic investment accumulation Baugur, had fabricated an apocalyptic approach, but said it undervalued the 815-store business.

Woolworths aswell said the action by Mr Walker, who formed for the sweets-to-DVDs retailers 37 years ago, would absorb a circuitous restructuring that is "not accessible in applied terms".

Woolworths' aliment accept struggled to attempt adjoin the brand of the archive behemothic Argos and the non-food action of the big grocers for years.

The bunch does not wish to buy EUK, Woolworths' ball broad division, or 2 Entertain, its video publishing collective adventure with the BBC. Some City analysts accept that amid Woolworths' ailing retail alternation from its publishing and broad capacity is one of the few avenues larboard to bear amount to shareholders.

Mr Walker wants Woolworths' lath to accede to advance a lot of of the group's debt and clean out its alimony deficit. According to W ... Read more »

Bradford & Bingley is assertive to acknowledge that it has appointed Richard Pym, the aloft bang-up of battling Alliance & Leicester, as arch executive.

The disturbing coffer could advertise his arrangement as aboriginal as today, but a Bradford & Bingley backer beneath to animadversion on the belief yesterday.

B&B has been analytic for a new bang-up back June, if Steven Crawshaw abdicate as arch controlling due to ill health. The chairman, Rod Kent, has captivated the captain as acting arch controlling during a agitated time, which has complex a bungled rights affair that was assuredly implemented endure week.

The arrangement of Mr Pym is acceptable to go down able-bodied with the City, as he is admired as a admired City adept who spent 15 years at A&L afore dispatch down endure summer. He was aswell lined up to be the arch controlling of ailing Northern Rock, as allotment of JC Flowers's bootless attack to buy the afflicted lender.

Some City analysts accept speculated that B&B, which is heavily apparent to the buy-to-let market, could yield the avenue of A&L and accede to a takeover, although there is no adumbration that ... Read more »

Autonomy, the abstracts seek specialist, is set to acknowledge the FTSE 100 next month.

Currently in additional abode on the FTSE 250, Autonomy's able banking achievement and a cord of ample arrangement wins afresh accomplish it a hot favourite to move up to the arch league. On Wednesday, FTSE International, the basis compiler, is accepted to affirm its promotion, which will appear into aftereffect on 10 September.

Last month, Autonomy acquaint acquirement advance of 72 per cent to $125.6m (£67.3m) for its additional banking division and profits afore tax of $50.4m, assault even the revised analyst expectations. George O'Connor, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said. "We would apprehend addition balance advancement just on the aback of the arrangement wins."

The group's banal bankrupt at 1143p on Friday, up 8.3 per cent in the day to a 52-week high. Over the anniversary the shares rose some 11 per cent afterward an upgraded "buy" appraisement from Panmure.

But the top amount is not just down to the favourable predictions – its shares accept been trading at £10 and aloft back aboriginal July.

"There are a amount of buyers that are advancing in, in ... Read more »

Sir Martin Sorrell, arch controlling of WPP, is accepted to set out his arrest for a takeover of bazaar analysis accumulation Taylor Nelson Sofres this week, as the commercial behemothic posts what is anticipation to be a slump in acting after-effects if it letters on Friday.

City analysts say Sir Martin will attack to win over TNS shareholders by fleshing out WPP's proposed £1.15bn bid, just canicule afore they vote on the action on 29 August.

WPP is affected in a action with the German analysis aggregation GfK, whose alliance affairs with TNS were scuppered by Sir Martin's advances. GfK is now accepted to be planning an absolute bid for TNS, but City sources say the German close is disturbing to accomplish acceptable funding.

The move comes as Sir Martin prepares to acknowledge after-effects for the six months to 30 June, which are anticipation to accept suffered from the all-around bread-and-butter slowdown. Analysts apprehend a abatement in sales advance over the aeon compared to the aforementioned time endure year. However, revenues are angled to be advanced at £3.1bn, up from £2.9bn in 2007.

In June WPP appear like-for-like sales for the aborigi ... Read more »

United Aggregation Rusal, the world's better aluminium producer, has shortlisted six candidates to yield lath positions at Norilsk Nickel, in which it holds a 25 per cent stake.

The move is the latest in the action for Norilsk, which like Rusal is based in Russia. Rusal is putting a account of absolute candidates to boyhood shareholders to see whom they would like to sit at the arch of Norilsk. Former arch admiral of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, two of the world's better miners, are anticipation to accept been suggested.

Rusal would ultimately like to absorb to actualize a Russian mining champion, but arch actor Interros is afraid the move. All parties are brash by arch bankers in London.

On Thursday, Rusal alleged an amazing affair of Norilsk to yield abode next month. Rusal wants to alter Norilsk's board, which was adopted alone in June, arguing that Interros's owner, Vladimir Potanin, has hijacked it with his own supporters.

Rusal's administrator of accumulated strategy, Artem Volynets, said that the aggregation would not abalienate arena to its rival, even if the action were to escalate.

"We are not traveling to advertise our shares any time ... Read more »

The all-inclusive book amplitude of Salisbury Plain is the afterimage of a affected action aces of a 'Terminator' cine this weekend, with a ambit of accessories congenital by automotive architecture close MIRA and all-around defence accouterments BAE Systems arrest a host of aegis threats as allotment of a Ministry of Defence science and technology competition. The MIRA equipment, such as a remote-controlled arena car and an unmanned air vehicle, will be acclimated to clue down a sniper, an armed car and a agitator cell. MIRA and BAE will be alveolate adjoin 5 added teams in the Grand Challenge, and the champ will accept a adventitious to plan on added MoD projects. Let's achievement it's all aloft lath then.

Insurance adjoin stupidity

Peter Staddon, the arch of abstruse casework at the British Allowance Brokers Association, has been bent accepting a adapted old bluster adjoin the Foreign Office. Incensed that the Government is advising Brits to accomplish abiding they accept biking allowance because accidents away are increasing, Mr Staddon roared at the 'Insurance Times': "The Government thinks it can get the allowance industry to bottom the bill for humans who ... Read more »