IT consultant ordered to pay £50,000 after being accused of stealing Soho House members’ personal details
Inflation hits 14-month high of 3.5pc February 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S inflation rate jumped to a 14-month high of 3.5 per cent in January. The increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will mean Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, will have to write a letter of explanation to the Chancellor detailing why inflation has risen more than one percentage point above the 2 per [...]
Premier Foods boosted by traditional brands February 16, 2010 STRONGER sales of branded food products helped boost profits at Premier Foods by 4.5 per cent in 2009 with further growth expected in the coming year. The maker of Hovis bread and Branston pickle reported a trading profit of £323m for the year to 31 December, in line with previously issued guidance. Sales climbed by [...]
Barclays sees record profit but bosses refuse bonuses February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS’ full-year pre-tax profit soared by 92 per cent to £11.6bn in 2009. The figure was boosted by the sale of its BGI fund management arm to US firm BlackRock last year. But even after taking that out of the equation profits were £5.3bn. Barclays Capital investment banking business generated £2.5bn of that. The bank’s [...]
Greece hits back over secret debt February 15, 2010 GREEK finance minister George Papaconstantinou went on the attack yesterday, hitting out at reports of dubious dealings between Athens and Wall Street investment banks. As Greece struggles to strike a deal with its EU partners that will allow itself to overcome a debt crisis, it has been hit by a flurry of allegations that it [...]
VT dismisses £1.1bn bid from arch rival Babcock February 15, 2010 SHIPBUILDER Babcock unveiled an audacious £1.1bn bid for services company VT Group yesterday, even as VT raised its offer for rival Mouchel. Babcock said an offer of 634p per share – a 25 per cent premium to VT’s current share price – was dismissed out of hand last week. Potentially lighting the fire under a [...]
British firms denied credit February 15, 2010 Nearly 60 per cent of businesses seeking bank finance last year were rejected, a survey from Britain’s Institute of Directors, published today, showed. The survey of 1,045 directors showed a quarter tried to access funds from their banks during 2009. Of these, 57 per cent were declined, a proportion the business group said contradicted banks’ [...]
EU has been hiding its debt for years February 15, 2010 IT is astonishing how short our collective memories have become. It was once well-known that Greece, Italy and other countries had used dodgy tricks to embellish their public finances prior to the launch of Economic and Monetary Union to meet the entry requirements; yet now everybody is pretending to be surprised or even shocked. Even [...]
Supergroup flotation is on February 15, 2010 Fashion retailer Supergroup yesterday confirmed it was pressing ahead with plans for an IPO despite several major flotations being called off in the last week. The company hopes to raise £125m from the listing, valuing it at £400m. Chief executive Julian Dunkerton yesterday began a roadshow to drum up investor support for the IPO before [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UNITED REMAINS KEEN TO COURT RIVAL CONTINENTAL The head of United Airlines has hinted at the benefits of renewing merger talks with Continental Airlines, saying the market had judged in favour of rival Delta’s takeover of Northwest. “The market capitalisation of Delta is approximately twice the combined market capitalisation of United and Continental,” [...]
EMI looks to sell Abbey Road February 15, 2010 EMI has put Abbey Road studios on the market so that it can raise funds to release itself from Terra Firma’s proposed restructuring of the Group. The studios were made famous by the Beatles but have since been used by the likes of Blur, Radiohead and the Manic Streett Preachers. EMI bought the property for [...]