I’ve been through hell, says Rok’s departing FD September 30, 2010 THE finance director of building and maintenance firm Rok yesterday spoke of his eight weeks of “hell” as he stepped down from the firm. “The whole experience has been hell. It’s put me through hell, its put my family through hell,” said Ashley Martin, as he reflected on the period since 11 August when he [...]
HP names the heir to Hurd September 30, 2010 COMPUTER maker Hewlett Packard has named Leo Apotheker, the former boss of software firm SAP, as its new chief executive. The surprise announcement last night sent shares in the American-listed firm down three per cent, as the company attempted to draw a line under its previous boss, Mark Hurd. Hurd left the company on 6 [...]
How the euro caused Ireland’s crisis September 30, 2010 THERE is one aspect of the Irish crisis that everybody appears to have forgotten about. Yet it goes a long way towards explaining Ireland’s problems. It is, quite simply, its membership of the dysfunctional single currency, an institution which it should never have joined. For years, sensible economists had been warning that the euro’s one-size-fits-all [...]
TfL: We’ll move Londoners September 30, 2010 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has vowed to keep as many services operating on Sunday and Monday as possible as London Underground (LU) workers stage their latest strike. If the 24-hour stoppage by LU workers goes ahead on Sunday evening at 7.00pm, the TfL said it will provide one hundred extra buses, marshalled taxis and increased [...]
iPad chemical firm plans to float in London September 30, 2010 AZ Electronic Materials is planning to list in London, the Financial Times reports this morning. The chemical company that provides materials for flat panel displays such as the iPad could be one of the biggest flotations in the City this year. AZ is owned by private equity groups Carlyle and Vestar Capital Partners, and makes [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS CALLS FOR REVIEW OF CURBS ON MIGRANTS New rules that restrict companies from hiring foreign workers must be “reviewed immediately”, the CBI employers’ body said, putting the business lobby on collision course with the government. The Home Office imposed a temporary limit on skilled workers coming to Britain from outside the European [...]
Treasury will back benefit pay revolution September 30, 2010 THE GOVERNMENT has reached a truce over the welfare system, which will see most benefits scrapped and replaced with a single payment, the Times reports this morning. The work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has persuaded the Treasury that the overhaul would be affordable, the report claimed. Duncan Smith and the Treasury have spent [...]
Cameron ready to announce his panel of business advisers today September 30, 2010 TWO MORE business figureheads were named as part of David Cameron’s panel of business advisors, Sky News reported yesterday. Indian businessman Ratan Tata and Sony president and chief executive Sir Howard Stringer are set to join a raft of hand-picked industry heads in the government’s business interest group. Also in the frame are Centrica chief [...]
G20 to consider tougher capital rules for banks September 30, 2010 FINANCE ministers in the G20 are considering a tough capital regime for the world’s biggest banks that will go beyond Basel III rules, CNBC said last night. The US, however, disagrees with the proposals to add two to three per cent to the Basel capital rules, the report claimed. A senior official told the broadcaster [...]
BP expects to pay dividend by next year September 30, 2010 BP’s new chief executive Bob Dudley moved to further restore the beleaguered oil giant’s image yesterday after he said BP may resume paying a dividend to shareholders in the new year. Dudley, who takes over the top job from Tony Hayward today, said that BP’s board will meet in the coming months to discuss restoring [...]