Titanic fine for Northern Rock bosses April 13, 2010 NORTHERN Rock’s former deputy chief executive has been fined an astonishing £504,000 for misreporting mortgage arrears at the stricken bank. David Baker was also banned from “performing any function in relation to any regulated activity”, effectively ending any chance of the 56-year-old returning from retirement. Northern Rock refused to comment on whether he will still [...]
Company pensions back in the black April 13, 2010 PRIVATE sector final salary pension schemes have moved into the black for the first time in almost two years on the back of rising equity markets and changing liability calculations. The 7,400 pension schemes run by UK companies had a combined surplus of £300m at the end of last month, up from a hole of [...]
JP Morgan to act for Jupiter April 13, 2010 INVESTMENT bank JP Morgan has been chosen to act for the fund management group Jupiter in its forthcoming flotation, City A.M. has been told. Jupiter has temporarily delayed its float plans in the wake of the crisis at Gartmore where one of its star managers has been suspended. But a flotation of the group, headed [...]
Intel sees surge in tech spending April 13, 2010 INTEL last night posted stronger-than-expected first quarter results and predicted further strong figures for the current quarter. Boosting expectations of a recovery in the tech sector after businesses and consumers slashed spending in 2009, the chipmaker said gross profit margin for the quarter was 63 per cent. Net income was $2.4bn (£1.6bn), or 43 cents [...]
Nomura wins employment tribunal discrimination battle April 13, 2010 NOMURA has won an employment tribunal battle launched against it by two former employees who claimed they were dismissed unfairly and alleged they suffered from sexual and racial abuse while at the bank. The Japanese bank was first hauled into the London Central employment tribunal in November last year, after former employees Maureen Murphy and [...]
Twitter runs first site ads April 13, 2010 TWITTER ran the first advert on its $1bn valued site yesterday, heralding the next phase in its business model. The site will show ads from companies including Starbucks, Virgin America, Sony Pictures and Red Bull. The advertising programme branded “Promoted Tweets” will be rolled out to up to ten per cent of users this week. [...]
Hoodless deal in doubt as Astaire reveals debt hole April 13, 2010 A SHADOW has been cast over fast-growing stockbroker Astaire’s latest acquisition, after the firm yesterday revealed it had discovered a yawning hole in the finances of its retail subsidiary Rowan Dartington. Astaire, which was renamed last year after Evolve Capital’s ambitious chief Edward Vandyk took over Blue Oar Securities, said it had become aware of [...]
Tower 42 is put on sale for £300m April 13, 2010 TOWER 42, the city of London’s first skyscraper, has been put on sale by its owners for £300m. After 12 years of ownership, Blackrock and Hermes want to “cash in” on the resurgence in London’s commercial property market. A shortage of office space and the weak pound has sent prices for high-end property in central [...]
INM benefits from Indie sale April 13, 2010 Independent News & Media, the Irish based company which sold its flagship Independent newspaper to Russian ex-KGB man Alexander Lebedev earlier this month, has seen a renewed interest in its shares since it parted with the loss making paper. Based on a positive report by Deutsche Bank its share price has risen from its historic [...]
Beatty wins £95m BSF contract April 13, 2010 Balfour Beatty has beaten rival Kier Group to the £95m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contract in Hartlepool. The infrastructure group said it had been awarded the contract by Hartlepool borough council to rebuild and replace six schools over the next five years. The first school construction project begins this summer and finishes in [...]