BoAML director to join FCA as investment boss March 12, 2014 Another high-profile hire for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator’s announced this morning that it’s appointed Julia Hoggett as head of investment banking in its supervision division. Hoggett, who’ll start in early May, joins the regulator from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she’s currently a managing director responsible for a variety of debt [...]
Poorest areas in England hit hardest by tobacco taxes March 12, 2014 There continues to be a strong link between smoking rates and economic deprivation, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Smoking rates are disproportionately concentrated in areas of high deprivation, while more affluent areas tend to have lower smoking rates. The ONS grouped areas of England into five categories (quintiles), with quintile one representing [...]
Minimum wage to rise to £6.50 March 12, 2014 The minimum wage will be going up to £6.50, business secretary Vince Cable’s confirmed. It's currently £6.31 for those 21 and over. The 19p hike will come into effect from October, and marks the beginning of a series of real-term increases, designed to “restore and then surpass” the wage’s pre-crisis value. At three per cent, [...]
Philip Clarke: Retail’s got an image problem but Tesco will win March 12, 2014 Tesco boss Philip Clarke has been talking this morning at Retail Week Live about retail’s "image problem". The chief executive of the UK’s largest supermarket said it has to accept that bigger is no longer seen as better by the customer, and that means it has to embrace change, dealing with pain in the short [...]
Innovia Security bags Bank of England contract to make material for new polymer notes March 12, 2014 The Bank of England (BoE) has announced this morning that it’s agreed a contract with Innovia Security to supply the polymer material to make its new (polymer) bank notes. The plastic for the £5 and £10 notes will be made in Wigton, Cumbria, with Innovia creating a plant specially. It’ll be operational from 2016, with [...]
Here’s what the Bank of England has to say on Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ripple March 12, 2014 In a new primer on the nature of money, the UK's central bank has waded into the world of sterling-alternatives. Seeing "a wave of innovation" in the recent past, the Bank says in "Money in the modern economy" that alternative currencies are not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. Or at least, not as [...]
Copper prices are getting slammed. Here’s what you need to know March 12, 2014 Copper values are down for a fifth straight day, as global economic worries see the red metal trade near its lowest level since July 2010. Societe Generale's Kit Juckes identifies tensions in Ukraine and ongoing Chinese growth fears as responsible for the downturn in prices. This weekend saw Chinese exports sharply lower, and a potential [...]
Poundland shares pop on first day of trading March 12, 2014 On its first of trading, Poundland has seen its shares jumped by 17 per cent. The company's initial public offering was priced significantly above its retail items of one pound, at 300p per share, toward the higher end of the range. The price gave Europe's biggest single-price retailer a market capitalisation of £750m. There has [...]
Troubles mount for G4S as profits slide March 12, 2014 Troubled contracter G4S has suffered a fall in profit before tax of 15 per cent or £170m, according to the company's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013. This compares to a profit of £158m in 2012. Revenue grew 2.7 per cent to £7.4bn, with strong revenue growth in emerging markets of 16 [...]
What you need to know before the open March 12, 2014 European futures are suggesting a mixed open for markets. German stocks are expected up again today, after data yesterday showed a surge in exports and imports in January. Meanwhile, Japanese consumer confidence fell to 38.3 in February (from 40.5). The drop, says Capital Economics, suggests consumers are doubtful over Abenomics. Corporate news Troubled contracter G4S [...]