Firms hit out at retirement age proposals July 29, 2010 BUSINESS groups yesterday rounded on plans to scrap the default retirement age (DRA), accusing the government of rushing the proposals through without proper consultation. From next October, firms will be unable to automatically lay off staff when they reach 65, allowing millions to work into their 70s and 80s. The DRA?will be scrapped in October [...]
BUSINESSVIEWS:WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT’S DECISION TO SCRAP THE DEFAULT RETIREMENT AGE July 29, 2010 JOHN CRIDLAND | CBI A default retirement age (DRA) helps staff think about when it is right to retire, and also enables employers to plan more confidently for the future. In certain jobs, especially physically demanding ones, working beyond 65 is not going to be possible for everyone.” GRAEME LEACH | INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS We [...]
DEFAULT RETIREMENT?AGE July 29, 2010 Q.WILL FIRMS STILL BE ABLE TO GET RID OF STAFF THAT ARE “TOO OLD”? A.It will be much, much harder. Companies will have to begin a performance management process to prove that a member of staff is no longer able to carry out their duties effectively. Even if they can prove that an employee is [...]
Eurozone pain eases profits at Santander July 29, 2010 SPANISH banking giant Santander yesterday unveiled a year-on-year fall in first-half profits, stung by a weak performance in the crisis-hit Eurozone and another hike in the amount it put aside to cover bad loans. Net attributable profit over the first six months of the year slumped 1.6 per cent to €4.45bn (£3.73bn), dragged down by [...]
Moore Capital follows rivals to open Swiss unit July 29, 2010 MOORE CAPITAL, the New York-based hedge fund, has become the latest alternative investment manager to set up an office in Switzerland. Moore Capital has opened a branch in Zürich to give its partners the option of working in a low-tax environment. Portfolio manager Kornelius Klobucar has moved from London to lead the team. The investment [...]
McAfee results trump Wall Street’s target July 29, 2010 MCAFEE, the security software maker, reported better-than-expected profit yesterday, lifted by growth in its consumer business. The company reported net earnings for the second quarter of $39.4m (£25.2m) up from $28.7m last year. Revenue rose four per cent to $489.2m, while non-GAAP revenue came in at $495.3m. Wall Street was targeting sales of $507.4m. The [...]
Sky smashes expectations as HD fuels surge in demand July 29, 2010 BSKYB is in touching distance of achieving 10m subscribers after announcing it made a net gain of 90,000 customers in the fourth quarter. In a strong set of results the subscription TV giant announced that demand for its HD content has surged, with 429,000 users signing up in the last three months. Adjusted revenue for [...]
Telefonica looks to new buy Vivo after positive results July 29, 2010 O2 OWNER Telefonica posted a robust 9.4 per cent rise in first-half profit as strength abroad offset a weak, but improving, performance in its native Spain. The results were released just hours after the firm announced it had completed the long-mooted buyout of its joint venture partner in Brazilian telecoms firm Vivo for €7.5bn (£6.3bn). [...]
BT profit climbs by 17pc despite tough trading July 29, 2010 BT shrugged off difficult trading conditions in the wake of government cuts to match expectations in its first quarter. The telecoms giant, which last month declared war on Sky with its entry into the lucrative Premier League subscription market, reported first quarter revenue of £5bn, down four per cent on the year before. However, rigorous [...]
Sky TV July 29, 2010 BACK in 1989, if you had predicted that Sky TV would become more successful than BT, you’d have been laughed out of the room. Rupert Murdoch’s Australian chutzpah was considered no match for the state monopoly that BT was handed on a plate, and which it squandered away over the following years. You’d have been [...]