FTSE director pensions soar July 22, 2009 The UK’s largest companies are paying an average 70 per cent of executives’ pay to fund the final salary pensions of their top directors, making them much more expensive than the pensions of ordinary employees, said a new study published today. The report, from actuarial consultants Lane Clark & Peacock, is the first to look [...]
Iron ore pushes towards $100 July 22, 2009 The market price of iron ore is approaching $100 a tonne, above the levels at which miners and steelmakers have struck supply deals, as demand outside China recovers.The surge in spot prices has spurred several banks to forecast that annually set benchmark prices will rise next year, reversing their previous expectations of a fall in [...]
Ofwat to rule on water firms July 22, 2009 Water company investors are today bracing themselves for fresh pressure on dividends as the industry regulator Ofwat prepares to set caps on water bills paid by 26m households for the next five years starting from 2010.
FSA fines HSBC 3.2m July 22, 2009 BANKING giant HSBC has been slapped with a £3.2m fine for losing a floppy disk and CD containing customer details in the post and leaving client files out on desks. The bank now features in the top-ten biggest fines handed out by City watchdog Financial Services Authority (FSA), after the regulator said it made repeated [...]
Select Committee launches probe into sexist City culture July 22, 2009 THE Treasury Select Committee plans to grill senior business figures over the treatment of women in the City as part of its ongoing investigation into the banking crisis, the government said yesterday. The committee’s new inquiry will look at the proportion of women occupying senior positions in financial services, as well as probing pay inequalities, [...]
Online auctioneer eBay slows its decline as PayPal pays off July 22, 2009 AUCTION website eBay reported a 29 per cent fall in second-quarter profit yesterday, but saw its shares rise as it beat analysts’ expectations. Net profit was $327.3m (£199m), or $0.25 a share, down from $460m, $0.35 a share, in the equivalent quarter of 2008, while revenues fell marginally, down to $2.1bn from $2.2bn. Excluding one-off [...]
GOODWIN SNAPPED IN NICE July 22, 2009 FRED Goodwin, the disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland banker, yesterday returned to Nice, in the south of France, after his “goodbye lunch” with Prince Charles at Clarence House. Goodwin came out of hiding to mark his stepping down as chairman of The Prince’s Trust after six years at the helm of the charity. It [...]
Deutsche admits spying on staff July 22, 2009 Deutsche Bank admitted yesterday that it had backed four surveillance operations against its own staff, but denied the involvement of any senior executives. The bank, which has been probing the allegations of spying, said the surveillance was prompted by the findings of external investigators hired by its corporate security team. Deutsche’s head of corporate security [...]
Intel appeals 1bn EU fine July 22, 2009 US Computer chip maker Intel yesterday filed an appeal against a ¤1.06bn (£1.25bn) fine handed down by the European Union relating to antitrust allegations. The company said it had lodged a formal appeal against the ruling, which determined that the firm had abused its dominant market position to the disadvantage of rival Advanced Micro Devices.
Amazon acquires Zappos.com July 22, 2009 The world’s top online retailer Amazon has sealed an $807m (£490m) deal to buy fashion retailer Zappos.com, it said yesterday. Amazon will hand over 10m shares for Zappos.com, which specialises in the sale of clothes and footwear. The company will also give Zappos.com employees $40m in cash and stock as part of the deal.