CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE CITY GIVE SIR FRED GOODWIN ANOTHER CHANCE? August 10, 2009 JASPER JEVONS JCT“He could not be trusted in a position of high authority again, where big decisions would rest on his shoulders. But he could take an advisory role, but nothing with his head on the block, because if it was to go wrong he would be a crushed man.” MARK BARRETT BLACKROCK“I don’t think [...]
BUILDING SLUMP TO RAISE CITY RENTS August 9, 2009 THE City’s construction projects are grinding to a halt so quickly that in 2012 there will be no new space available in the City of London, according to a new study from King Sturge. The property specialist yesterday revealed to City A.M. that around 4.3m square feet of new space due for development between 2009 [...]
Cowdery to clinch deal for Friends August 9, 2009 CLIVE Cowdery, founder of buyout vehicle Resolution, expects to be toasting a major victory tomorrow when the board of insurer Friends Provident finally supports his takeover offer. Cowdery has had to raise his price to 0.9 new Resolution shares in return for each Friends share acquired, after weeks of wrangling with the board of his [...]
Tories will not rule out 20 per cent VAT August 9, 2009 THE CONSERVATIVE party denied reports it was considering raising the rate of VAT to 20 per cent yesterday, although it refused to rule the move out for future Treasury budgets. A spokesman for the party, likely to take over the government at a general election next year, said the idea of boosting the tax rate [...]
Branson all set to slam BA in the US August 9, 2009 SIR Richard Branson is set to air his grievances on the proposed tie-up between British Airways (BA) and American Airlines (AA) in the US next month, appearing in front of a key panel examining competition policy. The founder of Virgin group, who has been very vocal in his condemnation of the tie-up, was summoned as [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 9, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphNON-EXECUTIVES’ FEES RISE BY 10PC DESPITE STAFF PAY FREEZESUK non-executives at leading FTSE companies earned an average of €142,000 (£121,000) for each board role in 2008, a 10pc increase year-on-year, according to AlphaValue, the independent equity research firm. IMF PUTS TOTAL COST OF CRISIS AT £7.1 TRILLIONThe cost of mopping up after [...]
SpinVox looks to mend its image August 9, 2009 SpinVox, the company that converts voice recordings into text messages, has hired public relations firm Brunswick to help fix its image, after allegations of financial mismanagement. The company, led by chief executive Christina Domecq, has been beset by problems ever since allegations surfaced that its messages were being transcribed in call centres abroad. SpinVox, which [...]
Chocolatier Patchi plans to float August 9, 2009 Lebanese family owned chocolatier Patchi is planning to list in Dubai and London to help it fund a drive for global expansion. The firm, owned by founder and chairman Nizar Choucair, has hired advisers to help it float up to 49 per cent of the company, after delaying initial plans for a listing due to [...]
House prices to rise next year August 9, 2009 British house prices are likely to fall just three per cent more over the rest of 2009 before growing by two per cent in 2010, says the Centre for Economics and Business Research.“Our view is that the extent of house price falls already seen means further significant falls are unlikely,” said CEBR economist Benjamin Williamson.The [...]
Financial services sees revival August 9, 2009 The volume of new financial companies seeking authorisation from the Financial Services Authority rose by 10 per cent in the second quarter, heralding a return to the activity seen prior to the recession. Independent financial advisers made up the largest group of the 282 new applicants, while boutique advisories also boomed as individuals left large [...]