Facebook frenzy costs businesses October 25, 2009 Twitter and Facebook are costing businesses an estimated £1.4bn every year in lost productivity, as over half of office staff said they spend 40 minutes a week on the social networking sites, according to a survey. Research from IT services provider Morse found 57 per cent of workers said they had used the websites while [...]
RBS builds on hiring in Asia October 25, 2009 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) the part-nationalised bank, is hiring in Asia to build up its status in the region, in a controversial move which could lead to questions on its strategy on hiring. The Edinburgh-based group – part-owned by the taxpayer – has hired at least four bankers who will work in its Asian [...]
Merkel’s tax-cut plans defended October 25, 2009 Germany’s new finance minister cautiously defended the tax cut plans of chancellor Angela Merkel’s incoming government yesterday, but said it was only a matter of time before steps were needed to rein in the deficit. Merkel sealed a coalition deal with the Free Democrats (FDP) on Saturday, vowing to cut income taxes by €24bn (£22bn) [...]
John Lewis online sales surge October 25, 2009 Online clothing sales at John Lewis, the employee-owned department store, have surged since it revamped its website last month, and introduced a range of new fashion brands. Managing director of John Lewis Direct, Robin Terrell, said the group had targeted £8.5m of extra sales from the relaunched fashion website in the first half of the [...]
B&B will split assets up to repay its loan October 25, 2009 PART-nationalised bank Bradford & Bingley (B&B) will split up its £50bn balance sheet into “good” and “bad” assets, in a move which mirrors the restructuring plans at Northern Rock. The group wants to sell off the “good” assets to private companies in a bid to repay its loans. Its mortgage book was nationalised last year, [...]
Goldshield signals end of bid battle as it trumps rival offer October 25, 2009 DRUG firm Goldshield could effectively be in the hands of its management after they increased their offer for the group yesterday and said they now have undertakings from over half of the firm. Goldshield, which manufactures appetite suppressant drug Appesat, has been in the middle of a bitter bid battle after its executive management team [...]
Post strike costs London 500m as talks restart October 25, 2009 POSTAL strikes are set to cost London more than £500m in lost business, the London Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) will reveal today. The news comes as fresh talks open up between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU), mediated by Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. CWU members walked out [...]
Tullett files US lawsuit against BGC October 25, 2009 TULLETT Prebon has filed a $1bn (£609.4m) lawsuit against arch-rival BGC Partners in the US, just days after a legal action between the pair opened in the High Court in London. Documents filed by Tullett at the district court of New Jersey allege that BGC poached 81 brokers from its New Jersey and New York [...]
Forte in talks over restructuring October 25, 2009 Hotels veteran Sir Rocco Forte is understood to be in talks with his business partner, the high street bank HBOS, about a restructuring to enable the company to ride out the economic downturn. Rocco Forte Collection, his joint venture with the state-backed unit of Lloyds Banking Group, runs luxury accommodation including Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel and [...]
Bluegold hedge fund goes Swiss October 25, 2009 Bluegold – one of the fastest-growing hedge funds based in London – has opened up a shop in Geneva to provide a base for traders who want to move from the UK to a jurisdiction with lower rates of taxation. The fund, which has around £1bn under management, is up by 65 per cent so [...]