Daily News Channel
A speed camera boss had a taste of his own medicine on Wednesday when he was banned from the road for driving at more than 100 mph (165 km/h) on a 70mph highway. Tom Riall, a chief executive of Serco, which supplies many of Britain’s traffic enforcement cameras, was caught by a police patrol car in Newmarket, in the eastern English county of Suffolk. Riall was recorded driving at 102.92 mph in a blue Volvo car, Sudbury Magistrates Court heard.
Fiat Group, fresh from an agreement to buy a piece of troubled automaker Chrysler, has plans to purchase GM Europe and spin-off the recombined carmakers into a new company. If successful, the new company would become one of the largest car manufacturers in the world behind Toyota. The combined company would generate about $100 billion a year with sales of between 6 and 7 million cars a year.
Switzerland’s largest bank will shed nearly 9,000 more employees as it tries to recover from the global financial crisis, its CEO said Wednesday. The announcement by UBS Chief Executive Officer Oswald Grubel came at the company’s annual general meeting in Zurich.
Automaker Peugeot fired its chief executive on Sunday, replacing Christian Streiff with Philippe Varin, currently the CEO at Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker. “Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the Supervisory Board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary,” said Thierry Peugeot, chairman of the PSA Peugeot Citroen supervisory board. “I am confident that under the leadership of Philippe Varin, the Group will be able, with all the teams, to unlock its potential.” Varin will officially take over Peugeot’s top post on June 1, but will begin “familiarizing himself” with operations starting next month
European aerospace group EADS has announced "satisfying" results for 2008, posting a net profit of ?1.572 billion ($1.987 billion), despite the economic downturn. In a statement on its Web site, the company revealed earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the period amounted to €2.8 billion ($3.55 billion).
Pharmaceuticals giants Merck and Schering-Plough are planning to merge their operations under the name Merck in a deal worth $41.1 billion.
Sri Lanka’s cricket team returned home to Colombo early Wednesday, as police in Pakistan searched for at least 12 gunmen believed responsible for the attack that left seven people dead.