The Business Matrix: Tuesday 10 June 2014

Time Inc has poor start on NYSE

Shares in newly spun-off Time Inc - the publisher of magazines including Time, People and Fortune – plunged 4 per cent on their debut on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. Last year, parent Time Warner decided to spin off the publisher in order to focus on its entertainment businesses. Time has 90 magazines and 45 websites.

Women bosses still earning less

Female executives in Europe earn as much as €36,000 (£29,120) less than their male colleagues, according to a report by Catalyst Europe,a non-profit organisation supporting women in the workplace. The study found that female MBA graduates earn €4,255 less than their male counterparts, and after five years the gap widens to €36,304.

Man in US move for Pine Grove

Man Group has stepped up its assault on the US market by agreeing to buy Pine Grove Asset Management. Pine Grove has $1bn (£595m) under management and a broad base of institutional clients in the US as well as high net worth individuals. The deal comes just weeks after Man said it was in talks to buy the US fund Numeric.

High street gets boost from clothes

Retail sales crept up in May, according to the British Retail Consortium’s latest snapshot survey. Total sales on a like-for-like basis were up 0.5 per cent on the same month in 2013. The best performing category was clothing, which reported its highest growth since 2011. On a three month basis food sales fell 0.2 per cent

Costain lands Centrica deal

Costain has won a contract to provide services as part of Centrica Energy’s Barrow Gas Terminals Project. Centrica Energy has invested a total of £84m in the project to process gas from fields at North and South Morecambe, and in the east Irish Sea. It is expected to complete by the end of next year.

EasyJet looks to Heathrow slot

EasyJet is looking at options to eventually operate out of Heathrow and is set to join a major committee of current carriers at the airport. The airline, which already operates out of Gatwick, has applied to join London Airports Consultative Committee on Heathrow’s expansion plans.

Latchways hit by project delays

Difficult markets and project delays have hit Latchways, which designs safety systems for working at height. Annual profits fell 38 per cent to £6.8m on sales down 9 per cent to £39m. It said it would take some time for improvements in the construction market to affect its orders.

Vodafone widens G4 coverage

Vodafone is to introduce high-speed 4G coverage in Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Reading and Southampton later this summer. Nearly one million people and more than 35,000 businesses in these towns and cities will benefit, it said.

Babcock misses out on contracts

Babcock is no longer in the running for contracts to maintain and develop £4.35bn of state defence property, the firm disclosed yesterday, following the conclusion of discussions with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

Harsh winter slows US growth

The harsh winter in the US has prompted experts to slash their growth forecasts for the world’s biggest economy this year. The National Association for Business Economists now believes the US is on track for 2.5 per cent growth.