Think inclusively and watch people help you July 12, 2010 This past week saw the departure of my good friend, Richard Titus, who had been chief executive of Associated Northcliffe Digital (AND) within the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) empire. I introduced Richard to DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere at a lunch in September 2008. And sometime later Titus was selected to energise the Associated [...]
Q&A: EU INVESTOR PROTECTIONS July 12, 2010 Q.WHAT DO THE EU PROPOSALS TO BOLSTER PROTECTIONS COVER? A.They will protect bank account holders and retail investors such as introducing faster and better protection of investors who face a run on their banks or have been the victims of fraud. A public consultation on improving the safeguards for insurance policy holders has also been [...]
Falkland Oil and Gas shares down as exploration draws blank July 12, 2010 SHARES in Falklands Oil and Gas slid by almost two thirds after its efforts at the Toroa exploration well drew a blank. The AIM-listed explorer confirmed that the Toroa F61/5-1 well will now be plugged and abandoned after it was drilled to a total depth of 2476 metres but failed to encounter any reservoired hydrocarbons. [...]
UK economy grows by 0.3pc July 12, 2010 THE economy grew at the same pace as previously estimated in the first three months of this year, according to official data. Figures from the Office of National Statistics showed that the economy grew by 0.3 per cent. The long-awaited GDP figures came from revised data after concerns that the initial figures released had not [...]
Santander expands branches with SEB deal July 12, 2010 SANTANDER has agreed to buy Swedish bank SEB’s German business for 555 euros (£466.5m) The sale will double the size of Santander’s German branch network. SEB has 173 branches in that country and a million customers. It wants to concentrate on merchant banking and wealth management in Germany. Santander’s acquisition is its second major move [...]
BAA passenger numbers hit by strike July 12, 2010 BAA has said the number of passengers using its airports fell in June because of disruption sparked by the BA cabin crew dispute. Passenger numbers in BAA’s airports fell 1.7 per cent compared with June 2009. BAA said that without the strike it would have expected traffic to have been at the same levels as [...]
BP spill bill hits $3.5bn July 12, 2010 BP, which is making progress with a new containment system for its ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, has said the cost of the spill had risen to about $3.5bn (£2.3bn). It also said more than 52,000 payments have been made to claimants, totalling almost $165m. About 105,000 claims had been submitted, it added. [...]
Companies cut marketing budgets July 12, 2010 COMPANIES cut their marketing budgets in the second quarter, new figures have shown. The survey of around 300 British companies for the IPA/BDO Bellwether report found that advertising budgets for nearly all categories were revised down. “The downward revision to marketing budgets in the second quarter is disappointing as it fails to build on the [...]
Thomas Cook buys German tour group for €30m July 12, 2010 HOLIDAY group Thomas Cook has bought German tour operator Oger for €30m (£25.2m). Oger specializes in holidays in Turkey and tours and carried more than 400,000 passengers last year. It reported gross revenues of €256m and operating profit of €3.3m. Thomas Cook said that the deal could create €8m in cost savings for the two [...]
Public sector building slump raises double-dip fears July 12, 2010 A SHARP drop in public sector building activity caused commercial development to fall to the lowest monthly level in nearly a year in June, according to property advisor Savills. The company said its Commercial Development Activity Index showed a net balance of minus 2.8 percent in June, the lowest reading in 11 months, down from [...]