2008年12月12日星期五

Yahoo! News: World - Britain

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: World - Britain

Britons saving less, survey says (AP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 03:54 AM CST

AP - Britons have been putting away less savings from their paychecks every autumn since 2005, and nearly half are planning to save even less this winter as they struggle to stay afloat amid the economic downturn, according to a survey published Friday by a British savings organization backed by the country's Treasury.

BAA says passenger numbers fell 8.9 pct in Nov (AP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 03:34 AM CST

AP - BAA Ltd., Britain's largest airport operator, said Friday that the number of passengers going through its seven airports countrywide fell nearly 9 percent in November from a year ago, as the economic downturn eroded demand and flight cancellations surged because of the closure of Bangkok's international airport and problems at Air France.

HBOS' bad loans charges swell to 5 billion pounds (AP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 03:23 AM CST

AP - Shares at HBOS PLC fell over 10 percent in early trading on Friday after the company said the amount of impairment charges it would have to take on bad consumer and corporate loans had swelled to 5 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) for the year.

Tycoons close businesses after Sark poll: reports (AFP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:28 AM CST

Sir David Barclay (L) and his twin brother Sir Frederick posing after receiving their knighthoods from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2000. Tycoons the Barclay brothers closed all their businesses on the Channel Island of Sark, leaving dozens jobless the day after landmark elections, the BBC reported Thursday.(AFP/Pool/File/Michael Stephens)AFP - Tycoons the Barclay brothers closed all their businesses on the Channel Island of Sark after their favoured candidates failed to get elected in landmark polls, reports and staff said.


Brits will be bulging by time of 2012 Olympics: research (AFP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:26 AM CST

A man stands at a bus stop in Manchester in 2006. One in three adults in England will be obese by the time London hosts the 2012 Olympics, researchers have said, calling for urgent government action to reduce waistlines.(AFP/File/Paul Ellis)AFP - One in three adults in England will be obese by the time London hosts the 2012 Olympics, researchers have said, calling for urgent government action to reduce waistlines.


Gov't delays new aircraft carriers (AFP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:25 AM CST

Bystanders watch the aircraft carrier, HMS Invincible, in New York City. Two new aircraft carriers ordered by the Royal Navy will come into service two years later than originally scheduled, Defence Secretary John Hutton has said.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Spencer Platt)AFP - Two new aircraft carriers ordered by the Royal Navy will come into service two years later than originally scheduled, Defence Secretary John Hutton said.


British credit card companies to ease rate hikes (AP)

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 12:12 AM CST

AP - Credit card companies have agreed to stop the practice of abruptly raising the rates paid by their most vulnerable customers, the British government said Friday.

Sun to shut Scottish manufacturing site (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 02:37 PM CST

AP - Struggling Sun Microsystems will halt production at its Linlithgow plant in Scotland, the company said Thursday, part of a move to consolidate its global manufacturing operations at a single site in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Prince Harry to train as helicopter pilot (AFP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 02:03 PM CST

Prince Harry, seen here in 2008, is to train as an army helicopter pilot, following in the footsteps of his older brother William who earned his wings with the Royal Air Force, it was announced Thursday.(AFP/File/Ed Jones)AFP - Prince Harry is to train as an army helicopter pilot, following in the footsteps of his older brother William who earned his wings with the Royal Air Force, it was announced Thursday.


Gordon Brown's slip of the tongue prompts heckling (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 11:32 AM CST

AP - A slip of the tongue by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown led to some particularly loud heckling in Parliament.

Job cuts, plunging pound trim holiday cheer (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 10:38 AM CST

Shoppers gather outside a branch of Woolworths in London, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008, as its branches start an up to 50% sale at outlets across the country. Administrator Deloitte says Woolworths will launch closing-down sale Thursday.  Deloitte, which was appointed to run Woolworths PLC last month after the retailer announced it was insolvent, says it had yet to find a buyer for the troubled retailer but still hoped to keep the company together. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)AP - The Christmas shopping fair at London's posh Primrose Hill neighborhood has been canceled. Fewer Christmas cards are being sent, and people accustomed to traveling are planning stay-at-home holidays.


UK pound falls to new record low against euro (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 10:01 AM CST

AP - Britain's pound fell to a new record low against the euro on Thursday for the second consecutive day as fears grew about the strength of the British economy.

Just A Minute With: British Director Danny Boyle (Reuters)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 09:19 AM CST

Director Danny Boyle (R) speaks beside actor Dev Patel during the Reuters - British director Danny Boyle had never been to India before he traveled there to film "Slumdog Millionaire" -- his new movie that tells the story of a street kid who rises from the slums of Mumbai.


British retailers brace against downturn (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 08:54 AM CST

AP - Britain's biggest retailer, Tesco PLC, announced price cuts of 50 percent. Former household favorite Woolworths PLC began a closing-down sale. Music retailer HMV reported a sizable first-half net loss.

Prince Harry to train as helicopter pilot (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 08:50 AM CST

This is a  Monday February 18, 2008 file photo of  Britain's Prince Harry,  as he  sits atop  a military vehicle in the Helmand province, Southern Afghanistan.  Royal officials say Prince Harry has been selected to train to fly helicopters for the British Army.  The prince's Clarence House office said Thursday dec. 11, 2008  that he will begin a 30-month training course in January. During a four-week assessment process, Harry flew 13 hours in a single-engine light aircraft, but did not fly solo.  Harry's older brother, Prince William, is training as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force. Their father, Prince Charles, qualified as  helicopter pilot in 1974. Harry's uncle, Prince Andrew, flew a Royal Navy helicopter during the Falklands War.  (AP Photo/John Stillwell, pool)AP - Royal officials say Prince Harry has been selected to train to fly helicopters for the British Army.


US film star Hartnett accepts libel damages from British tabloid (AFP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 08:22 AM CST

Actor Josh Hartnett speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the closing bell in July 2008 in New York City. Hartnett accepted libel damages from a British tabloid newspaper on Thursday, after it alleged that he was caught on CCTV taking part in AFP - US film star Josh Hartnett accepted libel damages from a British tabloid newspaper on Thursday, after it alleged that he was caught on CCTV taking part in "steamy shenanigans" at a London hotel.


German minister takes swipe at British rescue plan (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 07:31 AM CST

AP - Germany's finance minister has taken a public swipe at Britain's economic stimulus package, calling it a "crass" plan that would encumber the next generation with more debt than ever before.

Josh Hartnett wins libel suit against UK tabloid (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 06:53 AM CST

Josh Hartnett arrives for the Carnival Spectacular, a 1930's-themed charity party for Dramatic Need, an African-based arts charity, in  London Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)AP - Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett has won 20,000 pounds ($30,000) in libel damages from a British newspaper that claimed he engaged in "steamy shenanigans" in a public area of a London hotel.


British consumers' inflation predictions plunge (AP)

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 06:35 AM CST

AP - British consumers' predictions for inflation in the coming year plummeted in November from a record high three months earlier as the economic downturn worsened, a Bank of England survey showed Thursday.
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