US funds still dominating the industy October 12, 2009 AMERICA’S fund management industry is alive and kicking despite being buffeted by two recessions in the past decade, a leading funds guru said yesterday. Todd Ruppert, chief executive and president of T Rowe Price Global Investment Services, told a conference of asset managers that the US fund industry was gathering strength. He pointed out that [...]
Google lands a new blow on Microsoft with Rentokil Initial email agreement October 12, 2009 GOOGLE yesterday announced its biggest ever email deal with support services firm Rentokil Initial, estimated by analysts to be worth up to $3.5m (£2.2m). The internet giant will replace rival Microsoft, after it secured the contract to provide email to 35,000 of the rat catcher’s employees using its Google Apps product – which includes a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 12, 2009 BURBERRY GROUPDeutsche Bank raised its target price for Burberry to 620p, with a “buy” recommendation, ahead of the retailer’s second quarter sales update tomorrow. The broker said that expectations appear to be reasonably high, but that it believes that, most significantly, excess inventory will have been cleared through. DUNELM GROUPInvestec said that the recent placing [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 12, 2009 Credit SuisseThe bank has appointed François Roussely as a vice chairman in Europe and Pierre Fleuriot as a chief executive of Credit Suisse in France. Roussely joined the firm in 2005, having previously served as chairman and chief executive of Electricité de France between 1998 and 2004. Fleuriot has over 20 years of experience in [...]
Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg told to repay excessive expenses claims October 12, 2009 GORDON Brown was yesterday told to hand back over £12,400 in parliamentary expenses after making excessive claims for cleaning, gardening and decorating. Downing Street confirmed that Sir Thomas Legg, who is auditing MPs’ claims, had written to Brown ordering him to return £12,415. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was also censured by Legg for claiming [...]
Government must tighten finances by an extra 26bn October 12, 2009 THE government could balance its books by the year 2015/6 via additional fiscal tightening measures equivalent to £26bn in the next three years, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers will claim today. The report will say the government has a responsibility to put the public finances back on a sustainable footing by 2015/6, two years ahead of [...]
Decline in marketing spend eases October 12, 2009 THE rate of decline in marketing spend eased sharply in the third quarter of the year, as optimism increased among marketing professionals, according to new research. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising/BDO Bellwether Report showed that UK companies’ spending on advertising fell for the eighth quarter in succession in the period, but the reduction in [...]
RBS APPEASES TAXPAYING PUBLIC BY BRINGING OUT ARTISTIC GEMS October 12, 2009 AFTER being lambasted in recent months by angry taxpayers-cum-stakeholders baying for blood, it appears that the Royal Bank of Scotland is finally about to give something back. The bank – which is thought to own the largest collection of corporate art in Britain, with over 2,200 pieces – is in talks with museums and collectors [...]
ITV LOSES ITS X-FACTOR October 12, 2009 ITV’s epic search for new leadership hit a fresh low yesterday after Sir Michael Bishop ruled himself out of the running for chairman. And chief operating officer John Cresswell – who was yesterday appointed interim chief executive – said he would leave as soon as the role was filled permanently, ending ITV’s best chance of [...]
BBA warns on capital rules October 12, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) must produce a cost estimate and a timetable for the tightening of capital requirements on banks or risk damaging the UK economy, British Bankers’ Association (BBA) chief executive Angela Knight will warn today. In a speech at the BBA’s conference on compliance and regulation, Knight will say that banks already [...]