Oil groups taking action to help North Sea firms as prices continue to fall December 22, 2014 The leader of Aberdeen City Council has called on the Scottish and UK governments to attend a summit on the “emerging crisis” in the North Sea oil industry. Jenny Laing announced yesterday that the council was aiming to bring together governments, trade unions and industry bodies to develop a strategic plan to save jobs in [...]
Drought, disease and olive oil shortage to cost consumers dear December 22, 2014 CONSUMERS may have to think twice before generously dousing their meals with olive oil next year. Dire harvests in the world’s top olive oil producing countries Spain and Italy mean global production this season will hit a 15-year low, sending prices spiralling upwards. According to the International Olive Council (IOC), global production for 2014-15 is [...]
Greece’s Prime Minister offers election bargain December 22, 2014 GREEK Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said yesterday he would call a snap election at the end of 2015 if parties agree to elect his presidential candidate. His New Democracy party failed last week in its first attempt to get candidate Stavros Dimas elected. Dimas only achieved 160 votes compared to the 200 majority needed. Tomorrow [...]
Barclays’ Asian investment arm cuts clients list December 22, 2014 The Asian arm of Barclays’ investment bank has cut down its list of possible clients by close to a third following a review into its activities in the region, it emerged yesterday. The move comes after the British bank started a process in May to restructure its under-performing investment banking business, which will include the [...]
Searchlight Capital Partners spots £80m deal for British billboard company Ocean Outdoor December 22, 2014 British private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners is set to complete an £80m deal to buy London-based billboard company Ocean Outdoor, it emerged yesterday. Ocean operates outdoor advertising sites in cities across the UK, including the BFI Imax cinema at Waterloo and the Westfield shopping centre in White City, west London. Searchlight is in [...]
King’s Cross owners to sell stake in London’s biggest development December 22, 2014 THE PARTNERSHIP behind the regeneration of King’s Cross is planning to sell a 20 per cent stake in the 67-acre scheme. Argent, taxpayer-owned London & Continental Railways and DHL, have appointed Rothschild to find potential buyers as they prepare for the next stage of development. The transformation of the North London site got underway in [...]
Women making up larger slice of high earners December 22, 2014 The number of high-earning women is rising faster than the number of high-earning men. The number of women who are now higher-rate tax payers was 17 per cent greater in the financial year 2013-14 (April to April) than 2012-13, according to official data crunched by Radius Equity. This is quicker growth than in high-earning [...]
Senior level City staff expect 21pc boost to their bonuses December 22, 2014 City workers are feeling more confident about receiving higher bonuses this year, despite several top firms suffering a shareholder backlash over excessive pay and concerns over the EU bonus cap which comes into force next year. Most senior staff expect to see their bonuses increase by 21 per cent for 2014, according to research released [...]
City jobs drive UK productivity as sector grows: Average finance worker contributes £85,000 to the economy each year December 21, 2014 The City is continuing to punch above its weight to boost productivity in the economy, figures out today reveal. Around 2.1m people now work in the finance and professional services industry across the nation. This represents only 7.2 per cent of the UK’s workforce, but contributes 12 per cent of the UK’s £1.5 trillion total [...]
German World Cup win boosts Adidas December 21, 2014 ADIDAS has sold more than three million Germany soccer shirts in the past year, with demand boosted by the national team’s victory at the World Cup tournament in July, its chief executive said. That is twice as many as it sold when the World Cup was held in Germany in 2006, helped by demand from [...]