M&S defends £15m pay deal for new boss July 14, 2010 SIR STUART ROSE, the outgoing executive chairman of Marks & Spencer (M&S), along with the British retailer’s board faced investor revolt yesterday over the pay package handed to incoming chief executive Marc Bolland. With some shareholders calling his £15m deal “obscene” at its annual meeting, senior executives were left defending Bolland’s pay. Rose, who faced [...]
SHAREHOLDER VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MARC BOLLAND? July 14, 2010 ARIT AMANA | SOUTH LONDON “I don’t know his background but I found him to be personable when he introduced himself today. I like that he met his employees, it’s better to know the business from the bottom up. I look forward to seeing how he will run M&S.” GOUTAM DATTA | WEMBLEY “Marc Bolland [...]
Rio ready for growth but still cautious July 14, 2010 RIO TINTO reported a two per cent fall in iron ore production since last year and raised concerns of a possible double-dip recession and slower Chinese growth yesterday. The world’s second-biggest iron ore miner said it was running its mines close to capacity and forecast total annual output of 234m tonnes, slightly up on earlier [...]
Huhne urges EU to cut more emissions July 14, 2010 EUROPEAN businesses should be hit by much tougher rules on greenhouse gas emissions, according to energy secretary Chris Huhne and environmental ministers in Germany and France. The politicians called on the EU to slash emissions by 30 per cent in the next ten years, instead of the current 20 per cent target, in a joint [...]
Rio Tinto July 14, 2010 THE manacles strangling Rio Tinto’s Australian focus may have been removed, enabling the miner’s $200m (£130.9m) investment in Western Australia to go-ahead, but in reality the 40 per cent super-tax, since reduced to 30 per cent, was just a distraction. The dredging at its Cape Lambert mine in the Pilbara will help to boost production [...]
EU clears Iberia tie to BA July 14, 2010 BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) has landed approval from European competition regulators to allow its merger with Iberia and joint venture with American Airlines (AA) to go through. The European Commission (EC) yesterday gave antitrust clearance to the airlines to launch the three-way partnership, which will include slot sharing in London and New York. Although the Department [...]
Lovells beats peers with revenue rise July 14, 2010 CITY LEGAL giant Lovells has bucked the trend by posting a rise in 2009 turnover putting it ahead of peers, which have seen depressed revenue levels. Income at Lovells for the year ended 30 April came to £541.8m, marking a two per cent rise on the previous year when income was £530.6m. The firm, which [...]
Facebook refuses to remove Moat tributes July 14, 2010 THE ONLINE networking site Facebook refused to act against members paying tribute to Raoul Moat yesterday after Prime Minister David Cameron said there should be no sympathy for the dead gunman. Facebook said it was providing a forum for debate and there was no reason to stop people discussing the killer as long as they [...]
Pru director could step down soon July 14, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S senior independent director has told colleagues he will step down from the board once a replacement is found, according to reports last night. James Ross, a director at the Pru since 2004, may retire and trigger a larger board shake-up at the insurer following its failed £23.5bn bid for AIA. A spokesperson for Prudential [...]
Icap fortunes hit by a drop in volatility July 14, 2010 ICAP, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, saw its shares hammered by investors yesterday as fears crystallised over the impact of lower levels of volatility on the group’s business. Icap said revenue over the first quarter of the financial year rose eight per cent compared to the first three months last year, while profit grew by [...]