Ryanair executives pay frozen over increased fuel prices
Thursday, March 27, 2008 Thirty-eight members of the senior management of Irish airline Ryanair, including chief executive Michael O’Leary, have seen their pay frozen in light of the increasing price of fuel, driven by rising oil prices. O’Leary, who owns 4.2% of the airline and earned €992,000 (£780,000) last year including €565,000 basic pay, said “I think it’s inappropriate for managers to be awarding themselves pay increases if profits are falling,” and that pay would only be unfrozen if oil significantly decreased in price and “we can see some prospect of profits being increased.” Ryanair has currently hedged oil prices at US$68 per barrel, but this is set to expire, leaving the no-frills airline paying full market prices. “Our hedging finishes next week and we go from about $70 to about $100. Next year’s fuel bill is going up by €400m. We only have around 10% hedged in the high…
Category:April 23, 2010
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Japan’s January exports fall by 46% from last year
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 According to official figures, Japan’s exports dropped by 46% in January compared to a year ago, the lowest statistics ever to be recorded. Japan’s exports to the United States plunged by almost 53% in January, with car shipments down by 81%. Exports to the European Union fell by 47%. The Finance Ministry stated that the trade deficit was 952.6 billion yen (US$9.9 billion), the largest deficit ever recorded. The country’s trade deficit with China increased by 61% to 562.7 billion yen (US$5.86 billion). “Japan is particularly vulnerable to this downturn because trade is so central to the economy,” said Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade Organization in a statement during a press conference today. The demand for Japanese automobiles was hit particularly hard, plunging by 69%. Demand for electronic goods also dropped substantially. Last week, the government announced that the country’s economy had shrunk at…
Interview with Vicky Dhillon, City Council candidate for Wards 9 & 10 in Brampton, Canada
Thursday, October 26, 2006 The upcoming 2006 Brampton municipal election, to be held November 13, features an array of candidates looking to represent their wards in city council or the council of the Peel Region. Wikinews contributor Nick Moreau contacted many of the candidates, including Vicky Dhillon, asking them to answer common questions sent in an email. This ward’s incumbent is Garnett Manning; also challenging Manning is Stella Ambler, Mandeep Dhaliwal, Daljit Gill, and Nalem Malik.
Governor of Illinois arrested on suspicion of corruption
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 The Democratic governor of Illinois in the United States, Rod Blagojevich, 51, along with his chief of staff John Harris, 46, were arrested Tuesday morning by the FBI on federal corruption charges. The Chicago Tribune reports that federal agents raided Blagojevich’s home this morning and took him into federal custody. The arrest comes after a three-year investigation into Blagojevich’s “pay-to-play politics.” Specifically, the Department of Justice alleged that Blagojevich attempted to sell the Senate seat previously held by President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich, as governor, has the sole authority to appoint someone to complete Obama’s term. Authorities believe the process to select a new senator was tainted after authorities secretly recorded several of Blagojevich’s conversations. They believe that he was attempting to sell the seat in exchange for financial benefit for himself and his wife. Documents from the FBI and from U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald identify the…
News briefs:May 27, 2010
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Several injured in Ben Nevis cable car accident
Thursday, July 13, 2006 As many as eight people have been injured after two cable cars collided at the Nevis Range near Fort William in Scotland. Two RAF helicopters, an air ambulance, four ambulance crews, police, fire brigade and a mountain rescue team are among those present. Police have confirmed that three people have been injured, including one child. Injuries include broken legs, head and chest injuries. The Scottish Ambulance Service have reported that up to seven people had been thrown on to the hillside. A reporter at the scene said one car near the top of the mountain had slid down a cable, hitting another and then one of the cars fell to the ground. Northern Constabulary have stated “It’s understood that two gondolas would appeared to have collided and a number of casualties have been reported. The local mountain rescue team, Inverness helimed and other air support are…
Google planning PayPal rival
Monday, June 20, 2005 Financial analysts say Google is planning an e-wallet service that could eventually compete with eBay’s payment service PayPal. Google has not confirmed the development. The rumor is a first sign of Google’s expected expansion of revenue sources to capitalize on its advertising customer base and search-engine traffic. What form that expansion will take has been a hotly debated subject for the company whose stock valuation momentarily made it the world’s biggest media company on June 7, 2005. Even Microsoft has been mentioned as a possible future competitor. Ebay’s stock valuation dipped more than 2% on the news. Paypal currently accounts for one-fifth of the company’s revenues. But one business analyst saw potential benefit for Paypal[1], depending on exactly how the “Google Wallet” takes shape. The uncertainty underlined the lack of substantive information behind the rumor. According to the New York Times, the CEO of a major…
Canada’s Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3) city council candidates speak
This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details. Monday, October 30, 2006 On November 13, Torontoians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Doug Holyday (incumbent), Peter Kudryk, Lillian Lança, and Ross Vaughan. For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
Interview with US political activist and philosopher Noam Chomsky
Saturday, April 4, 2009 Noam Chomsky is a professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Linguistics and Philosophy. At the age of 40 he was credited with revolutionizing the field of modern linguistics. He was one of the first opponents of the Vietnam War, and is a self described Libertarian Socialist. At age 80 he continues to write books; his latest book, Hegemony or Survival, was a bestseller in non-fiction. According to the Arts and Humanities Citation Index Professor Chomsky is the eighth most cited scholar of all time. On March 13, Professor Chomsky sat down with Michael Dranove for an interview in his MIT office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ((Michael Dranove)) I just wanted to know if you had any thoughts on recent NATO actions and the protests coming up at the 60th NATO conference, I know you’re speaking at the counter-conference. Could be I give so many talks…