Investors rap Tomkins on pay June 2, 2009 ENGINEERING firm Tomkins was last night left reeling after nearly 40 per cent of investors voted against the firm’s annual remuneration report. Just 61 per cent of shareholders approved the remuneration policy, according to figures released yesterday, with many understood to have been outraged by the company’s rewards system. Chief executive Jim Nicol was handed [...]
FSA fees to rise as City watchdog bares its teeth June 2, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) expects the fees it levies on regulated companies this year to rise by 35.8 per cent to £435.5m, just under its initial prediction of £437.7m. The increase is targeted at arming the City watchdog with sufficient resources to heighten its level of supervision, after it was accused of failing to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 2, 2009 LADBROKESBarclays Capital is not convinced that Ladbroke’s overseas investment will give a particularly high return compared to peer William Hill’s online expansion. However, the broker believes the group is well-run and cash generative, with a high dividend yield. It initiated coverage of the stock with an “equal weight” rating. KCOM GROUPKCOM’s results show strong cost [...]
Floral firm Laura Ashley sales get a spring time lift from in-store discounts June 2, 2009 FASHION and homewares retailer Laura Ashley said yesterday its total UK retail sales in the first 17 weeks of the current financial year rose 8.4 per cent, aided by promotional activity and an increase in retail space. “Despite the challenging economic environment, the board remains cautiously optimistic for the current year,” the company said. Like-for-like [...]
Labour market deteriorates further but slower pace fuels hope of recovery June 2, 2009 THE labour market continued to deteriorate in May, but the pace of decline slowed for a third month and experts said there are signs of recovery. Permanent placements fell for the fourteenth consecutive month, but at the slowest pace since last July, while temporary billings declined at the weakest rate since September. But the monthly [...]
Talvivaara plans a share issue to expand resources June 2, 2009 ZINC miner Talvivaara plans to issue over 20m shares, equal to about 10 per cent of current shares, to finance a plant expansion, it said yesterday. The 22.28m shares would be worth £84m based on yesterday’s share price. The shares will be placed with new and existing institutional shareholders so the firm can boost production [...]
JUMPING OFF A SINKING SHIP June 2, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown’s plans for a cabinet reshuffle have been thrown into disarray with the resignation of five Labour MPs, including three ministers. Home secretary Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, the families minister and cabinet office minister Tom Watson all quit ahead of Brown’s shake-up, which is expected to follow likely heavy defeats for Labour [...]
Consumer confidence improving June 2, 2009 CONSUMER confidence in the UK enjoyed its biggest rise in almost two years during April, according to Nationwide. The UK’s largest mutual said its consumer confidence index rose eight points to reach 50 in April, with 26 per cent of survey respondents saying they expect the economic situation to be better in six months time. [...]
Macquarie in fund raising June 2, 2009 MACQUARIE Group has raised A$1.2bn (£593m) from shareholders, in another boost for the Australian investment bank, which has seen the price of its stock double in the past three months. The cash injection means Macquarie now holds $4.3bn more than the minimum capital requirement imposed by regulators. Its shares have risen from a 10-year-low of [...]
Money supply is starting to grow again June 2, 2009 FOR all the much-deserved carnage in Westminster yesterday, the economy is gradually recovering. This doesn’t mean we will enjoy a V-shaped bounce-back: growth, when it returns, will have to contend with massive fiscal tightening to tackle the exploding budget deficit; interest rates will also have to go up, dealing the convalescing housing market a second [...]