CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 23, 2010 Future Group The media business has appointed former ITN chief executive Mark Wood as chief executive of its UK business. Wood, who stood down from ITN last year, has been a non-executive director at Future since April 2009. He will leave the board on taking up his new post at the end of the month. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 23, 2010 SWISS RE Standard & Poor’s Equity Research (S&P) maintains a “sell” rating on Swiss Re, based on its concerns over whether the group’s property and casualty book has been eroded by an aggressive pricing stance. S&P has readjusted forecasts due to an increased allowance for the costs of Swiss Re’s hybrid debt. TULLOW OIL Citigroup [...]
BHP FACES RISING BID DISCONTENT August 22, 2010 MINING giant BHP Billiton could be left with a diplomatic crisis on its hands if it does not move swiftly to address growing investor disquiet over the cost of the company’s mammoth $40bn (£26bn) hostile bid for Canadian fertiliser giant PotashCorp. BHP will this week attempt to calm shareholder fears at a gruelling series of [...]
Inflation may push rates up to 8 per cent August 22, 2010 INFLATION could peak as high as 10 per cent in the next couple of years, a leading policy think tank has warned, forcing a crippling spike in interest rates up to around eight per cent. Andrew Lilico, the chief economist at the Policy Exchange think tank, believes that once the economic recovery kicks in properly [...]
Coalition under fire over City regulation August 22, 2010 PRESSURE is mounting on the government to rethink the details of its plans to transform the financial regulatory structure in the UK, which senior bankers have warned could close off avenues for discussion between regulators and the industry. Of particular concern to the banks is the new Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which will answer only [...]
Pinewood investor ups ante on Grade August 22, 2010 MICHAEL Grade has come under fresh fire for his performance as chairman at Pinewood Studios, with activist investor Crystal Amber calling another meeting at this week’s results announcement to discuss his departure from the firm. “We are meeting with the management team on Wednesday, and are in correspondence with other shareholders,” Crystal Amber chief executive Richard [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 22, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph TESCO TO OPEN DRIVE-THRU STORE It has moved into banking, pet insurance and telecoms, but Tesco will expand its reach further this week with the launch of the UK’s first ever “drive-thru” supermarket. The service will allow customers to pick up their weekly shop without leaving their car. LIDL SET [...]
Labour close to bankruptcy August 22, 2010 The Labour party is £20m in debt and “on the verge of bankruptcy”, former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott warned yesterday. The 72-year-old ex-ship’s steward, who is campaigning to become party treasurer, said Labour needed to find smarter and more cost-effective ways to take on the cash-rich Conservatives. In an implicit criticism of former leaders [...]
Aim market to return to growth August 22, 2010 The tide of firms delisting from the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) will finally bottom out over the second half of the year, heralding a return to growth for the junior market next year. Deloitte predicts the number of firms on the market will reach a low point of 1,200, a drop of almost 30 per [...]
Virgin pilots hit out over days off August 22, 2010 Virgin Atlantic pilots have warned the firm’s managers not to push them as the two sides meet in last-ditch talks over working hours. The pilots are claiming Virgin has reneged on a deal allowing them a minimum number of scheduled days off every year. Under the rota they currently work under they receive the same [...]