John Lewis pays 15pc bonus as sales beat M&S March 6, 2014 JOHN Lewis’s partners will share a reduced bonus pot equal to 15 per cent of the average staff salary as the retailer put more money aside to shore up its huge pension fund. The £202.5m bonus, which was announced to 91,000 John Lewis and Waitrose staff yesterday at stores across the country, is equivalent to [...]
Willie Walsh paid £5m for work putting Iberia and BA on course March 6, 2014 WILLIE Walsh, the boss of International Airlines Group (IAG), was paid almost £5m last year as the firm made progress on turning around its Spanish carrier Iberia. Walsh, who led British Airways before it merged with Iberia in 2011, was awarded a £1.2m bonus, or almost 70 per cent of the maximum based on BA [...]
Fewer visits to bank branches with mobile cheque payments March 6, 2014 CHEQUES should be cashed via mobile apps, the Treasury said yesterday, saving time and effort in paying in the funds. The new technology is another step in reducing visits to branches, cutting costs for banks. It launched a consultation on the idea, hoping to develop industry standards in the payments method. Currently Barclays offers the [...]
Schroders beats expectations to set new record March 6, 2014 FUND manager Schroders rose to a record share price high yesterday after beating market expectations to deliver a big rise in annual profits. The blue-blooded money manager, led by chief executive Michael Dobson, saw shares close up over five per cent at £27.27 a share. Earlier in the day, Dobson had unveiled a 24 per [...]
Analyst Views: What is your outlook for Schroders? March 6, 2014 CHRIS TURNER | GOLDMAN SACHSManagement strike a cautious tone in their outlook statement, suggesting that the strong asset performance of recent years may moderate in 2014. Nonetheless they remain confident in the group's long-term outlook. We rate Schroders a buy on the last close £25.90. HALEY TAM | CITIOur initial reaction is positive. Profits before [...]
Lord Rothschild casts dim view on bull market March 6, 2014 LORD Rothschild, scion of banking’s most famous dynasty, yesterday said investors should not rely on the “punchbowl” of cheap central bank money to deliver investment returns. The old school financier, aged 78, said that despite a strong 2013 his fund, RIT Capital Partners, had seen a 0.9 per cent decline in net asset values in [...]
Ofgem probes energy firms on power cuts March 6, 2014 OFGEM yesterday said that it is going to investigate UK Power Networks’ (UKPN) and SSE’s performance during the Christmas storms, after the two electricity distribution network operators were found to have been the slowest in responding to customers. The energy regulator is also looking to increase payments to customers who have their electricity cut off [...]
New Look’s turnaround man quits March 6, 2014 NEW LOOK chairman Alistair McGeorge, credited with driving the fashion retailer back into profit, is stepping down. McGeorge joined the firm three years ago from Matalan and guided the firm through last year’s £800m bond issue, enabling it to get back into the black. “It’s the right time to seek new challenges,” he said yesterday. [...]
Spotify snaps up Massachusetts music data firm The Echo Nest March 6, 2014 MUSIC streaming service Spotify yesterday bought The Echo Nest, a Massachusetts-based music data firm that helps users put together playlists and generates recommendations. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the tie-up will give Spotify access to The Echo Nest’s database of more than 30m songs. “We’ve been fans of The Echo Nest [...]
Thomas Cook wins big at the PwC Plc Awards March 6, 2014 THE GONGS were flying at the Grosvenor House Hotel last night for the PwC Plc Awards. Host Mishal Husain (of BBC fame) told the crowd how organiser Ian Restall likes to keep a tight ship and sure enough it was all over by 10pm with award-giving kept to an unusually neat 35 minutes. The Lazarus [...]