Mandelson snubs Magna bid October 8, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson has refused to back Magna’s bid for Vauxhall and Opel in its current form, after bringing in PricewaterhouseCoopers to go over the plans. PwC were brought in to review Magna’s bid separately from Germany, as concerns on UK jobs grew. If the UK doesn’t back the bid, Opel will miss out [...]
Shell to build giant gas ship October 8, 2009 Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday it was planning to deploy the world’s first floating liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) facility. The landmark project, which is set to be the world’s biggest vessel, will be placed off the coast of northwestern Australia. Other super-majors, who have also been floating the idea of a floating station, will monitor [...]
M&S clothing slips into third place October 8, 2009 Marks & Spencer has fallen into third place among Britain’s fashion retailers in terms of volume of clothes sold, trailing behind George at Asda and Primark, according toTNSFashion Trak. M&S fashion sales have suffered as consumers switched to cheaper rivals during the recession.
Go-ahead for Wharf tower October 8, 2009 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday used his new planning powers to overturn a local council decision and approve a Docklands skyscraper. The Columbus Tower, developed by Commercial Estates, will stretch 63 storeys – making it bigger than Canary Wharf’s iconic Canada One tower, and even the Heron Tower and the Pinnacle, buildings currently under construction. [...]
US jobless claims fall to nine month low as retail sales rise October 8, 2009 THE number of US workers filing new jobless claims hit a nine-month low last week, and retailers posted their first monthly sales gain in over a year, easing fears recovery from recession would be unsustainable. The Labour Department yesterday said first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped 33,000 to a seasonally adjusted 521,000 last week, the [...]
CITY VIEWS: WAS BORIS RIGHT TO INTERVENE OVER THE COLUMBUS TOWER? October 8, 2009 JIM HAYES EASTERN LAKE INVESTMENT COMPANY“It is important that he overturns decisions that are not logic-based. The building will be an iconic expression of progression, and will help us compete with other cities that produce megastructures. It will give everybody something to aspire to.” CORINNE PITMAN DEUTSCHE BANK“The council should be able to make the [...]
Citigroup trio under threat October 8, 2009 THE future of three of US bank Citigroup’s biggest names has been thrown into doubt following an external review of the company. A report by consultancy firm Egon Zehnder, commissioned by regulators earlier in the year, found that Citi’s management team, led by chief executive Vikram Pandit, was generally up to scratch. But the report [...]
Senior Deutsche executives to escape espionage probe October 8, 2009 SENIOR executives at Deutsche Bank are to escape investigation by German authorities into a spying scandal that saw the bank hire detectives to dig up information on a troublesome shareholder. The bank is facing a probe into privacy violations by Frankfurt prosecutors and financial regulator BaFin, and has already fired two executives over their alleged [...]
Investment bankers enjoy the return of stability to job market October 8, 2009 THE investment banking job market stabilised during the third quarter as confidence returned, according to a survey by recruitment specialist Robert Walters. While recruitment levels did not reach the peaks seen in 2007, the firm said hiring levels had settled down during the quarter, adding that many candidates for jobs were once again receiving counter-offers. [...]
British Land executives to set up firm October 8, 2009 PROPERTY group British Land is set for a boardroom shake-up after it emerged that its star director Andrew Jones was quitting the group, taking two committee members with him to set up a rival firm. Jones, 40, had already confirmed he was considering leaving but his decision to bring on board colleagues Valentine Beresford and [...]