Paulson and Friedman asked to explain AIG pay to banks January 26, 2010 FORMER US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and ex-New York Fed chairman Stephen Friedman will testify today at a congressional hearing on bailed-out insurer American International Group’s (AIG) payments to banks, a committee aide said yesterday. Paulson and Friedman, both former longtime executives and chairmen at Goldman Sachs, were considered among key figures in AIG’s government [...]
Home baking boosts Real Good Food’s annual sales January 26, 2010 REAL Good Food yesterday announced a 15 per cent sales increase over the year, with strong results in the sectors of sugar retail, baking ingredients and its bakery division, Hayden’s. Hayden’s reported a rise in sales to all three of its major customers; Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Costa Coffee. Meanwhile, food service sales, which [...]
Thriller ahead for Michael Jackson fans January 26, 2010 THE Character Group, which had a Christmas hit selling Go Go Pets, is aiming for another top festive toy with the launch of Michael Jackson dolls. The company has won the UK licence to distribute four Jackson dolls made by Playmate Toys. Two of the dolls will be launched in August and two more before [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 26, 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers Dr Paul Robertson has joined the accountancy giant to lead the crisis management part of its risk and business continuity management services division. A past winner of the CIR Business Continuity Management Consultant of the Year award, Robertson is a regular speaker at industry events. He has spent the past 13 years working as [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 26, 2010 MARSTON’S Numis predicts the brewing giant will report a year-on-year one per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its annual meeting on Friday and gives the shares a “buy” rating. It forecasts pub margins to be flat with falling utility and food costs and labour cost inflation offset by efficiency gains. PHILIPS S&P Equity has [...]
Siemens profits up despite sales drop January 26, 2010 GERMAN engineering group Siemens yesterday reported a big jump in pre-tax profits despite a sales slump. Siemens has cut its workforce by 22,000 in the past year as well as slashing its administration costs by €2bn (£1.7bn). Its profit rose 23 per cent in the first quarter to €1.48bn from €1.2bn in the same period [...]
Retail banks the worst hit by Obama’s plans January 26, 2010 YOUGOV’S BrandIndex operates in the United States, as well as the UK and continental Europe. We have looked at the impact that President Obama’s announcement on 21 January may have had on the American public’s perception of US consumer and investment banking brands. Obama’s proposals include strict regulations on consumer banks, restricting their ability to [...]
UBS tax deal with Swiss in doubt January 26, 2010 Switzerland’s cabinet will meet today to discuss a court decision which may undermine a key tax deal involving leading bank UBS and US authorities. A UBS client earlier this week won an appeal to prevent her account data from being given to US tax collectors as part of a US probe into possible tax evasion. [...]
A LESSON IN THE PERILS OF PAYING BY PLASTIC January 26, 2010 LET this be a lesson to all those out there who imagine that the good old days of decadence are gone for good. I hear a bit of a surprise was in store on a recent holiday to Miami for Michael Parnes – the founder of Old Park Lane Capital, the Mayfair-based ultra high net [...]
SIGNS OF LIFE January 26, 2010 BRITAIN has emerged blinking from its deepest post-War recession but there seemed little reason to be cheerful yesterday as paltry growth of just 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009 hammered home the fragility of the recovery and the very real risk of a relapse in 2010. Policymakers had optimistically forecast a V-shaped [...]