Barclays cuts Christmas hours for IT and account contractors November 20, 2013 HUNDREDS of contract workers at Barclays are to lose 10 days’ work before the end of the year, City A.M. understands, in a move which surprised staff. The contractors in Barclays Finance were told this week that they would have to take off 10 unpaid days by the end of the year. “The bank has [...]
Zurich shakes up Asia work November 20, 2013 ZURICH Insurance has sold its remaining stake in New China Life Insurance for $943m (£584.7m), as it pushes ahead with an attempt to diversify its Asian portfolio. The Swiss insurer said yesterday it had offered its 292.5m shares in NCI, representing a 9.4 per cent stake, at a fixed price of HK$25.00 each. The price [...]
Bank keen to play down talk of a rate hike November 20, 2013 THE BANK of England’s interest rate-setting committee voted unanimously this month to keep the rate at its historic low, while emphasising that it may not tighten policy even when unemployment falls below the seven per cent threshold. Governor Mark Carney introduced forward guidance this summer, saying that the Bank does not intend to lift rates until [...]
Study says tourism industry has created a third of UK’s new jobs November 20, 2013 THE UK’S tourism industry is set to grow at a faster pace than crucial sectors such as retail, construction and manufacturing, according to a report published this morning. The Deloitte study, commissioned by the UK government-funded group Visit Britain, says that the tourism sector will grow by 3.8 per cent a year from now until 2025. [...]
Back to bonds for Allied Irish November 20, 2013 ALLIED Irish Banks returned to the wholesale bond market yesterday, with its first unsecured debt issuance since 2009. The offering garnered €3.6bn (£3bn) of demand for a €500m transaction. The bonds mature in three years’ time, with a coupon of 2.875 per cent. Allied Irish said that investors from 25 countries had been involved in the [...]
Cars drive up Japan exports November 20, 2013 JAPAN’S exports surged to their largest annual increase in three years last month, as car shipments jumped. Exports were up 18.6 per cent in October compared to a year earlier, government data showed yesterday. Significantly, exports also rebounded in volume terms, rising 4.4 per cent from a year earlier, in a sign the global economy [...]
Euro plans for female quotas moves closer November 20, 2013 VINCE Cable’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) yesterday spoke out after European politicians backed a draft bill that would ensure that women occupy 40 per cent of non-executive board seats on listed-firms. The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the draft law to make boards of European quoted companies two-fifths female by [...]
Bring powers back to UK, say firms – but don’t leave the EU November 20, 2013 A GROWING number of British businesses are opposed to leaving the European Union, a survey reveals this morning, yet most still want a renegotiation with Brussels over the UK’s terms of membership. Nearly four in 10 firms (39.3 per cent) said a withdrawal would have a negative economic impact, even if followed by a trade agreement [...]
Deloitte can appeal part of its Rover fine November 20, 2013 DELOITTE has been given permission to appeal part of the record £14m punishment imposed for its work with the ill-fated car company MG Rover. The accounting firm is allowed to contest six of the 13 findings against it, the Financial Reporting Council said yesterday. Deloitte and one of its former partners were penalised in September [...]
Cineworld boss and founder to quit next year November 20, 2013 CINEWORLD chief executive Steve Wiener, who founded the business 18 years ago, will leave the UK’s largest cinema chain at the end of March 2014, the company announced yesterday. Wiener, who has worked in the cinema industry for 44 years, left his job as managing director of Warner Bros Europe in 1995 to set up [...]