Business news in brief: Vestas | Carillion | Murray International Trust

Further job losses at wind firm Vestas

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas yesterday unveiled plans to cut a further 1,400 job to save an extra €100 million (£79m) as it prepares for another difficult year in 2013.

The job losses come on top of nearly 2,400 staff who were axed in January as the firm struggles with production problems, which have already sparked a series of profit warnings and a shake-up of its senior management team.

Carillion eyes on £36bn contracts

Support services firm Carillion has built up a record

£35.6 billion pipeline of potential contracts as local authorities seek to outsource more work. The company hailed a “robust” performance in the face of tough conditions as underlying pre-tax profits rose 1 per cent to £73.1 million in the first six months of the year, despite a 12 per cent fall in revenues to £2.2bn.

Murray downbeat on living standards

Murray International Trust has given a downbeat assessment of global growth prospects, despite posting a strong first-half return.

The trust delivered a net asset value total return of 6.1 per cent for the six months to 30 June, compared with a 4.2 per cent return for its benchmark.

It said an absence of growth could see living standards fall “for the foreseeable future”.