Helena Morrissey gives Oxford’s deans a dig as her son graduates November 9, 2014 One woman powerhouse and mother of nine Helena Morrissey doesn’t stop championing equality and diversity when she clocks off at 6pm on a Friday (we know, we doubt she gets out at 6pm too, but humour us). The CEO of Newton Investment went to see her eldest son Fitzroy graduate from Oxford Uni, [...]
Sands prepares to pitch to StanChart investors November 9, 2014 STANDARD Chartered’s beleaguered chief executive Peter Sands is bracing himself to meet big investors in Hong Kong this week, after a bruising 18 months for the bank. The lender’s share price has fallen by almost 50 per cent since March 2013, and is still falling; over the past month the stock dropped another 15 per [...]
Banks argue over the future of free in credit current accounts November 9, 2014 Britain’s banks are split over the future of free bank accounts, with lenders arguing for and against the traditional accounts in submissions to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Barclays told the CMA, which last week launched a major probe into competition in the market, that free accounts impeded competition. “As standard current accounts in [...]
City firms still hiring despite slower growth November 9, 2014 London firms are maintaining their strong hiring patterns despite signs the UK’s economic growth may be losing momentum. The total stock of job opportunities was two per cent higher in October than it was in October 2013, according to figures released this morning by recruiters Morgan McKinley. Further data from recruiters Astbury Marsden show that [...]
Business confidence unfazed by Euro woes and lower inflation November 9, 2014 CONFIDENCE remains high among UK firms, with signs for both output and employment looking positive. The BDO Optimism Index, compiled by accountants BDO, was 104.6 for October, figures released this morning reveal. Despite this being marginally lower than September’s 105, it remains above the UK’s long-term average of 100 and marks a significant improvement on [...]
London companies gear up to take advantage of technology November 9, 2014 LONDON firms are planning to take on more workers over the next five years in order to exploit advances in technology. Three quarters of London businesses plan to increase their headcount over the next five years, with half saying they will add at least 10 per cent to current staff numbers, according to research commissioned [...]
UK economic recovery starts to lose traction November 9, 2014 MOST regions in the UK are experiencing a slowdown in growth, a set of survey data released today shows. Output growth slowed in six of the nine English regions, according to the results of the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a survey of private sector firms – published by Lloyds Bank this morning. The overall [...]
Small firms put off exporting by legal barriers November 9, 2014 LEGAL barriers are putting off smaller firms from entering overseas markets, new research shows today. The joint study by KPMG and YouGov surveyed 1100 UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The main barriers to entry to foreign markets cited by SMEs were complex legal regimes, followed closely by not having strong enough networks overseas. Currently, [...]
Vodafone plans to hike dividend November 9, 2014 TELECOMS giant Vodafone is set to raise its dividend by between two and five per cent tomorrow as the group reports its half-year results. The move comes as analysts predict that the FTSE 100-listed firm will report a 12 per cent fall in earnings to £5.8bn. Earnings are likely to have been weighed by its [...]
Mid-cap firms outperform big companies amid stall in sales November 9, 2014 AVERAGE sales growth at UK companies remains sluggish, with profit margins under pressure, leading retail stockbroker The Share Centre said yesterday. The overall weak figures, however, conceal a strong disparity between different sized companies, with UK mid-caps outperforming their blue chip counterparts, according to the company’s latest Profit Watch UK report. The total annual revenues [...]