Business News

Here’s today’s summary of recent Business news which students may find interesting. I do have to find another word for interesting, I must say it a million times!

VIRGIN FRANCE BANKRUPT

Virgin France is to declare itself insolvent, the latest music chain to fail against a backdrop of consumers shifting to buying digital music.

The firm - not affiliated with Richard Branson's Virgin Group - has 25 stores in France, including a flagship outlet on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

It has already taken steps to terminate the lease on the Paris store and will hold a meeting with unions on Monday, a spokesman said. Virgin France employs 1,000 people.

The firm is currently owned by French investment firm Butler Capital. Butler bought 80% of Virgin in 2007 from French media company Lagardere, which had purchased the chain from Mr Branson's Virgin in 2001.

ICELAND GRANT OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION

Iceland has awarded two licences for oil and gas exploration and production in the waters off the north east coast of the Atlantic island.

The licences have gone to Faroe Petroleum and Valiant Petroleum, with Norway taking a 25% stake in both through state-owned oil firm Petoro. Experts have predicted the Arctic could be the next major oil-producing region.

Iceland is hoping it will be able to generate much-needed revenues from any discoveries of oil and gas.

US CAR SALES HIT 5 YEAR HIGH

US car sales rose 13.4% in 2012, making it the best year for the industry since 2007, industry figures have shown.

General Motors sold the most number of cars and light trucks, 2.5 million for the year. Total sales across the industry came in at 14.5 million.

Japanese car companies recovered from supply chain disruption in 2011 taking more market share.

Higher US sales in 2012 were driven by the recovering economy and increased availability of credit.

GERMANY RETAIL SALES UP

Retail sales in Germany rose as much as 2.1% last year as Europe's largest economy took the eurozone debt crisis in its stride, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

But stripping out inflation, turnover at retail stores fell between 0.1% and 0.3% from 2011, Destatis said. November retail sales also gained from a year earlier, it added.

Germany has mainly escaped the worst effects of the crisis that has threatened to unravel the bloc. Figures this week also showed the jobless rate was unchanged at 6.9% last month - with the total jobless at about 2.8 million.

Source: BBC Business News