CURRENT NEWS ITEM: EASYJET PROFITS FALL 45% AS RYANAIR PLANS TO COMPETE

TOP - 50 RELEVANT BREAKING NEWS

1. Ryanair profits set to fall by a third

   Ryanair will probably say second-quarter profit fell 32 percent as higher fuel prices added to costs and the carrier cut fares to attract passengers.

2. Ryanair profits fall sharply

   Europe's largest low-cost airline reported a 77% drop in interim profits and warned it would report a loss for the second half of the year due to the crippling effects of higher fuel costs

3. EasyJet reports sharp fall in profits

   Budget airline easyJet PLC reported a 45 per cent drop in full-year profits today as higher fuel costs offset a strong gain in revenue.

4. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo profits fall, but top views

   NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co posted better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday despite higher credit losses, underlining their standing as among the strongest big banks in the battered U.S. financial sector.

5. Wattyl plans job cuts as earnings fall

   PAINT maker Wattyl says it will cut jobs as it expands its cost-cutting program aimed at offsetting falling revenue and earnings.

6. Debenhams reports 4pc fall in profits

   Department store Debenhams today said it was encouraged by market share gains after like-for-like sales fell 4.2 per cent amid the current economic turmoil.

7. Merck announces big job cuts, as sales and profits fall

   Hurt by declining sales of some of its biggest drugs and vaccines, Merck said that it would cut another 7,200 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force, in its second revamping in three years.

8. Merck cuts more jobs as profits fall

   Merck, the US pharmaceutical group, said it would cut its global workforce by more than 10 per cent as it slashed full-year profit forecasts and reported a 28 per cent slump in third-quarter earnings

9. Merck Plans to Cut 12% of Work Force as Its Sales and Profit Fall

   Hurt by declining sales of some of its biggest drugs and vaccines, Merck said that it would cut another 7,200 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force, in its second revamping in three years.

10. Sharp fall in profits for Honda

    Japanese carmaker Honda Motor reports a 41% fall in profits as it struggles with falling demand and a strengthening yen.

11. Earnings alert: SAP profits fall

    Plus: EarthLink profits on cost cuts...Sony reduces forecast...Microsoft earnings beat estimates, outlook lower...iPhone sales buoy AT&T earnings.

12. As SAP profits fall, revenue outlook yanked

    The German enterprise software titan offers investors little hope for a quick turnaround in IT spending, noting that the climate remains murky.

13. Dreamworks posts fall in profits

    Dreamworks sees third quarter profit fall despite the strong performance of film Kung Fu Panda.

14. Lazard’s 3rd-Quarter Profits Fall 34%

    Lazard said on Wednesday that its third-quarter profit fell 34 percent, as the investment bank took charges on buying back the parts of its asset-management business it did not already own, as well as the market turmoil and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Lazard reported $54.8 million in net income, assuming the full exchange of exchangeable [...]

15. CSR jobs risk as profits fall

    CSR the maker of microchips for use in Bluetooth wirelesslink devices has confirmed it may axe up to 50 jobs in a cost cutting drive aimed at saving 20m £12.5m in 2009.

16. NYSE Euronext profits fall 33%

    The transatlantic exchange operator said that its third-quarter profit declined 33 per cent on the back of severance and merger costs and lower volumes in European derivatives trading

17. Fuel costs dent Ryanair profits

    Profits at budget airline Ryanair fell 47% in the first half of the financial year, the Irish firm says, as fuel costs soared.

18. Ryanair expects second-half fall into red

    Europe's largest low-cost airline warned it would report a loss for the second half of the year after interim profits fell 77 per cent because of higher fuel prices

19. Ryanair plans cheap trans-Atlantic flights

    Budget airline Ryanair is drawing up plans to offer trans-Atlantic flights as cheap as 10 euros ($12.70) before taxes to several U.S. cities from Britain and Ireland, a company official said, according to a newspaper report Sunday.

20. Ryanair reveals cutprice transatlantic plans

    Passengers could pay as little as £10 to cross the Atlantic as Ryanair draws up plans to set up a new independent lowcost carrier.

21. Ryanair: Air fares to fall by 15 to 20 per cent by April

    Ryanair has forecast that its headline air fares will drop by 15 to 20 per cent over the next six months as it fights to cope with the recession.

22. SocGen profits fall 84 per cent on Lehmans write-offs

    The fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers continued yesterday, as two of Europe's biggest banks came clean on their exposure to the fourth-biggest US investment bank, which went bankrupt in September.

23. Ryanair profits dive 47 per cent after oil price surge

    Ryanair's profits slumped by almost half in the first six months of the year thanks to the spiralling oil price, the company said yesterday.

24. Profits Decline at Ryanair

    Among the reasons for the sharp drop in half year profits, the low-cost airlines cited higher fuel prices accounted for half of Ryanair’s operating costs in the time period.

25. M&S suffers sharp fall in profits

    Half-year profits at Marks and Spencer fall 34% as the weakening economy takes its toll on consumer confidence.

26. More auto industry gloom as BMW profits fall and Jaguar extends redundancy plan

    There was more doom and gloom from the automotive industry yesterday as BMW admitted a sharp fall in profits and Jaguar announced plans to extend its voluntary redundancy scheme to up to 600 staff.