ROYAL MAIL STRIKES October 15, 2009 OVER 100,000 postal workers will stage two 24-hour strikes next week on 22 and 23 October, in a dispute over pay, jobs and modernisation at the Royal Mail. The Royal Mail – led by chief executive Adam Crozier – said the decision was an “appalling and unjustified attack on customers”.
Boris to hike prices for TfL and C-charge October 15, 2009 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday blamed the recession and the “mistakes of the past” as he unveiled sweeping hikes to Transport for London’s (TfL) fare package. Johnson said tube fares would rise 3.9 per cent overall next year, while bus prices will jump by 12.7 per cent. The changes come alongside a proposed increase to [...]
Multi-million sign-on bonuses entirely normal, argues BGC October 15, 2009 BGC PARTNERS will next week claim that offering over £40m to brokers at rival Tullett Prebon was “entirely normal and not unlawful” recruiting practice, as the two firms resume battle in the High Court. The case was adjourned for the day yesterday after a defence barrister for BGC was taken ill on just the second [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS BORIS RIGHT TO HIKE THE FARES IN A LOW-INFLATION ECONOMY? October 15, 2009 STEVE REYNOLDS RSA INSURANCE“Most people feel that anything that is not in-line with inflation is unjust. In this case, you have got to find another way to resolve the deficit. The fares already seem over-the-top – I’ve just come back from the US and services like transport are far cheaper there.” RUPERT THOMAS THE SYNERGY [...]
Xstrata pulls out of bid for its rival Anglo October 15, 2009 MINER Xstrata pulled out of its bid to create a “mining super-major” with rival Anglo American yesterday, in a climbdown for its chief executive Mick Davis. The group decided not to make a formal offer for Anglo after the Takeover Panel issued a “put up or shut up” ruling. It proposed a nil-premium “merger of [...]
Sainsbury’s rises on bid talk October 15, 2009 J SAINSBURY shares jumped 10 per cent yesterday on market talk that Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund was planning a renewed offer for the supermarket chain after dropping a bid in 2007. Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group, the 26 per cent shareholder Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) and the Sainsbury family, which own around 17 per cent, [...]
US economy on the mend but deflation still a risk October 15, 2009 There was further proof yesterday that the US economy is starting to recover from recession as data showed that US consumer prices rose modestly in September. The US Labour Department said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent in September on the previous month, taking the annual inflation rate to -1.3 per cent [...]
FSA under fire over its hiring rules October 15, 2009 CRITICISM continued to mount yesterday over plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to vet senior appointments in the Square Mile, with one law firm calling it “a considerable expansion of its powers”. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) said the FSA made the proposals without any consultation. A letter to 5,000 institutions, sent out earlier this [...]
Death of star banker and Lazard boss Wasserstein is mourned on Wall Street October 15, 2009 TRIBUTES flooded in yesterday for star investment banker and chairman and chief executive of Lazard, Bruce Wasserstein, who died on Wednesday. The celebrated Wall Street dealmaker was hospitalised on Sunday due to an irregular heartbeat and had been said to be recovering until the news of his death. He worked right up until his last [...]
WHERE WILL XSTRATA LOOK FOR DEALS NOW THE ANGLO MERGER IS OFF? October 15, 2009 RICHARD CURR PRIME CFDSXstrata can find better deals than Anglo, so it’s no surprise it has walked away. The Anglo that Xstrata was looking at a year ago looks somewhat different. We suspect Xstrata might go for some low hanging fruit, as in Lonmin or First Quantum, but we wouldn’t rule out another approach for [...]