Banks must pocket profits March 31, 2010 BANKS should take advantage of recent profits they have made to bolster their balance sheets, the Bank of England executive director for financial stability Andrew Haldane said yesterday. “There is a strong case for banks, in the UK and internationally, pocketing this windfall rather than distributing it to either staff or shareholders,” he said in [...]
ISA savers hit as lose out on £3bn interest March 31, 2010 BRITONS with individual savings accounts (ISAs) could have saved up to £3bn if they had switched their savings to another account, according to Consumer Focus. The public watchdog said yesterday that customers who haven’t switched their ISA accounts could be losing out on one to two per cent interest, or between £1.5bn to £3bn a [...]
Enterprise Inns slates pub aid from ministers March 31, 2010 ENTERPRISE Inns, the UK’s second-biggest pubs company, yesterday lashed out at the government for its failure to provide adequate aid to struggling publicans. Enterprise, which has over 7,000 tenanted pubs, said it noted the proposals by newly-appointed pubs minister John Healey to commit £4.3m of funding to the industry over the next three years. But [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE LOCAL PUB IN DANGER? March 31, 2010 ANDREW HARPER | AON CONSULTING “Fancy wine bars have put local pubs in danger, but the economic downturn is having a greater effect. High levels of taxation aren’t helping either.” JOHN YOUNG | MISHCON DE REYA “In my neck of the woods, I’ve definitely seen a lot of pubs closing. I think it’s partly because [...]
FirstGroup is hampered by US weakness March 31, 2010 FIRSTGROUP, the transport operator, reassured the City yesterday that it will hit its full-year results targets, despite being dealt a £16m blow by the heavy snow earlier this year. The group also said it expects to deliver only moderate earnings growth in the financial year ahead, largely due to a sluggish performance from its US [...]
Network Rail to seek strike injunction March 31, 2010 A LEGAL standoff between Network Rail and trade union RMT has been pushed back to today, after the rail operator threatened to seek an injunction against a proposed strike by signalling staff. The two will meet this morning in front of a High Court judge to push for an injunction to prevent a three-day walkout [...]
AT A GLANCE March 31, 2010 Virgin Trains Only two trains per hour between London Euston and Birmingham New Street will run, and another two trains between London Euston and Manchester Picadilly. www.virgintrains.co.uk South West Trains Two trains per hour between London Waterloo and Basingstoke. Between London Waterloo and Guildford, only one train an hour will run. www.southwesttrains.co.uk Southeastern Two trains [...]
Relief as Bank of Ireland taps private cash March 31, 2010 BANK of Ireland will raise from private sources much of the €2.7bn (£2.4bn) it needs, potentially becoming the only member of Ireland’s “bad bank” scheme to escape a fresh bailout. The bank said it was in fundraising talks with investment banks, a welcome relief for the Irish government, which faces years of scrimping to plug [...]
Topps Tiles sees revenues dip March 31, 2010 BRITISH retailer Topps Tiles posted a second-quarter fall in underlying sales, blaming a dip in confidence as the general election nears and consumers brace themselves for tax rises and job cuts. “If I cast my mind back to previous elections, they’ve never done us any favours that’s for sure,” Matt Williams, chief executive of the [...]
British Land secures 465,000 square feet of London lettings as market turns March 31, 2010 RECESSION-HIT London remains a magnet for office occupiers, property company British Land showed yesterday, after announcing 465,000 square feet of new lettings since February, hiking its occupancy to 92 per cent. The real estate investment trust said it had let 117,000 square feet at its 10 Triton Street project in London’s West End to Aegis [...]