Longest serving bank boss exits September 25, 2014 RBS CHAIRMAN Sir Philip Hampton yesterday formally announced his planned move to become chairman of GlaxoSmithKlein. He will make the move in early 2015 when a successor is found – among the front-runners is thought to be Lord Myners, the former City minister under Gordon Brown through the financial crisis. Hampton will become a non-executive director [...]
PPI complaints fade away but current account woes increase September 25, 2014 THE PAYMENT protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal showed signs of drawing to a close yesterday as the City watchdog revealed complaints volumes were falling sharply. But other problems in banks are starting to emerged, with complaints about current accounts starting to creep upwards. There were 2.4m new complaints opened in the first half of 2014, the Financial [...]
Charles Stanley kicks off search for Sir David’s new replacement September 25, 2014 WEALTH manager Charles Stanley yesterday launched the hunt for a new chief executive after current boss Sir David Howard announced he would stand down after 26 years. Charles Stanley, listed on the junior stock market, said the decision was made in light of new EU regulations, which ban fund executives from holding the role of [...]
Michael O’Leary proves he’s still good for laughs September 25, 2014 RYANAIR has the best shareholder meetings. Despite Michael O’Leary’s decision to “step out of the public spotlight”, he’s still good for quips when he gets in front of a crowd. Yesterday’s meeting in Dublin was no different. Tesco was first to get it in the goolies. When speaking about chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs, O’Leary [...]
Farage swings …video shows he really does love Europe after all September 25, 2014 IT LOOKS like Nigel Farage has changed tack. He’s done an impressive reverse ferret and backed Europe. “I love Europe, no, really, I do,” he says in his latest party political broadcast. But before you drop your Union Jack mug and spill all your tea, it’s not a real broadcast; it’s for Paddy Power. And [...]
Kazakhstan taps into investors to raise capital September 25, 2014 KAZAKHSTAN will return to the international bond markets after nearly 15 years to raise cash from investors. The central Asian country, known for its eye-catching capital Astana, has mandated Citigroup HSBC and JP Morgan to raise the cash from the international investment community, The three banks will hold a series of meetings throughout next week, [...]
The name’s bond …retail bond as Bollywood’s Eros goes for cash September 25, 2014 Bollywood film company Eros International yesterday announced plans to tap the retail bond market, the first media company to use the burgeoning asset type to raise cash. Eros, which makes about 70 films a year and has a library of a back catalogue of about 2,300 films, will raise the cash through a seven-year bond [...]
Tory conference aims to cash in on that Miliband deficit gaffe September 25, 2014 THE CONSERVATIVES will use their annual conference in Birmingham this week to play up the party’s economic credibility following a speech by Labour leader Ed Miliband in which he forgot to mention the deficit. Kicking off in Birmingham on Sunday, all eyes will be on key Tory figures including David Cameron, George Osborne and Theresa [...]
Bad news in the post hits Royal Mail September 25, 2014 SHARES in Royal Mail yesterday slipped below below 400p for the first time since its IPO last October. The shares bottomed out at 397.90p before closing on 400p, a fall of 3.47 per cent, after rival UK Mail issued a revenue warning because of a decline in parcel volumes. That’s a year-low for the stock, [...]
UK Mail revenue hit by fall in parcel volumes September 25, 2014 UK Mail Group yesterday forecast a one per cent drop in first-half reported revenue, blaming a decline in its mail business and weaker-than-expected parcel volumes. Revenue from mail business, which accounted for nearly half the company’s total revenue, was expected to fall by about six per cent in the six months ended 30 September, it [...]