Exclusive: Barclays recruits staff to complement digital growth October 9, 2014 Barclays is hiring more staff to advise small businesses and exporters, in a change to its plan to automate every service possible, City A.M. has learned. Chief executive Antony Jenkins is pushing to use cutting-edge technology wherever possible to automate processes and cut down on the need to retain an enormous workforce. But the bank [...]
London Stock Exchange in China to drum up new listings interest October 9, 2014 The London Stock Exchange yesterday fronted a new issues conference in Beijing to try to encourage Chinese firms to list in London. The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Fiona Woolf, is leading a City delegation across China this weekend and spoke at the event, which was co-hosted by the China-Britain Business Council. The [...]
Carswell is Ukip’s first elected MP October 9, 2014 Ukip members were last night jubilant but playing down poll predictions of a 30 per cent victory margin for Douglas Carswell in the Clacton by-election. The election was triggered in August when Carswell defected to Ukip and stood down from his Westminster seat.
N Brown warns on profits after Indian Summer October 9, 2014 SHARES in N Brown slumped 13 per cent yesterday after the company was forced to cut its full-year profit forecast just three weeks after saying it was on track to meet expectations. Chief executive Angela Spindler said the company, which targets older and plus-sized shoppers with brands such as Jacamo and Simply Be, had been [...]
Angela Spindler: It’s been a year of heavy lifting October 9, 2014 “It has been a year of heavy lifting,” N Brown’s chief executive Angela Spindler explained yesterday as she sought to allay fears over the retailer’s shock profit warning. Since joining N Brown in July last year, the former Asda director and Original Factory Shop boss has been busy hauling the business into the digital age [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to N Brown’s profit warning? October 9, 2014 JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT When I look at N Brown the strategy is right. But my concern is we are three weeks on from the second-quarter trading update when they were happy to commit to a 10 per cent profit rise and now we’re looking at a 15 per cent drop… The strategy day [...]
Royal Mail share price wavers as £18m deal over French fine is struck October 9, 2014 Royal Mail revealed yesterday that it had set aside £18m to pay an out-of-court settlement with French competition authorities over an alleged breach of antitrust rules in the country. The £18m pot set aside is split into £12m for the fine and £6m to tackle legal costs associated with the case, which is still under [...]
Royal Mail IPO share price: One year on – will Vince Cable have the last laugh? October 9, 2014 The pressure on business secretary Vince Cable to admit that the government made a mistake pricing Royal Mail shares at 330p has been steadily building since the company floated a year ago. On the first day of conditional trading, shares soared 38 per cent, having already opened at 403p. This increase, coupled with fevered appetite [...]
Skills shortage in construction or property to push up wages by as much as 10pc, says Hays October 9, 2014 Recruitment giant Hays said yesterday that skill shortages were pushing up some white collar salaries as much as 10 per cent, despite sluggish wage growth across the economy as a whole. A booming jobs market has resulted in the firm placing 20 per cent more staff in its latest quarter than in the same period [...]
Lehman Bros’ Dick Fuld is back on deals October 9, 2014 THE FORMER boss of collapsed bank Lehman Brothers is back in action, with reports yesterday indicating he was advising US firm OpenMatch Holdings in its bid to buy the National Stock Exchange. Dick Fuld has kept his head down since the failure of the bank in 2008. But his work on this deal, reported by Dow [...]