Former Matalan boss Darren Blackhurst decides to B&Q-it January 21, 2014 After a six month silence, the former chief executive of Matalan Darren Blackhurst has popped back over the parapet, this time as commercial director of DIY chain B&Q. The moves marks an unusual step back for Blackhurst, who was a leading contender to replace former Asda chief executive Andy Bond back in 2010 (a role [...]
Could Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom spark an entrepreneur album trend? January 21, 2014 (Kim Dotcom) Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now shut down internet sensation Megaupload, is a fan of an anniversary. The entrepreneur/hacker/DJ, who at 6’7” could himself be described as “mega”, has celebrated the two year anniversary of the day the FBI raided his New Zealand home and closed his file sharing site, by [...]
“Dark forces” blamed for Lloyds’ Co-op Bank fiasco January 21, 2014 A shady conspiracy of politicians stopped Lloyds from selling its 632 branches on a commercial basis, failed bidder Lord Levene (pictured) claimed this morning. The disastrous effort to sell the branches to the Co-op Bank went ahead because of political pressure, not sound business reasoning, he told MPs. Andrew Tyrie, chairing the Treasury Select Committee, [...]
Dubai’s mini-Europe – where it rains and streets are snowy January 21, 2014 Dubai, the desert state where luxury comes as standard and temperatures can easily soar over 40 degrees centigrade, will soon have its first snow-lined streets, in an impressive project called The Heart of Europe. The ambitious – if somewhat zany – Heart of Europe will offer visitors a number of five start luxury hotels, restaurants [...]
Lira just got smashed by Turkey’s central bank January 21, 2014 As widely expected, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has elected to hold rates. All three main rates have been left held, and that's seen the lira slide against the dollar. CBRT: lets hold rates, TRY will be fine pic.twitter.com/Lr1b38kMPg — econhedge (@econhedge) January 21, 2014 The central bank has been under [...]
Tougher regulation could see a fifth of bookies losing money says JP Morgan January 21, 2014 A fifth of Britain's betting shops could become unprofitable if further regulations are imposed on the gambling industry, according to a research note from JP Morgan. A further 20 per cent of shops could become only marginally profitable if measures such as limits to the number fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and the size of [...]
ECB’s Nowotny says he sees no deflation risks – But parts of the Eurozone are already suffering January 21, 2014 Ewald Nowotny is on less than top form this morning. The National Bank of Austria president says the he expects higher Eurozone growth to raise inflation in the region in 2015. While inflation should remain under two per cent, he says, he does not expect to see inflation or deflation in the euro area. We'd [...]
Why more young people than ever are living with their parents January 21, 2014 (ONS) Over a quarter of British adults between the ages of 20 and 34 were living with their parents last year – that’s 3.3m people and the biggest increase since the crisis, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Increasing living costs and job pressures carry on preventing people from moving out. [...]
Hollande suffers set back as employers reject jobs targets January 21, 2014 France's largest employers group has confirmed it will not agree to government hiring targets outlined in the so called "responsibility pact" proposed by President Francois Hollande. Medef president Pierre Gatz told France 2 television: I am not talking about written commitments. One million jobs, that is the consequence of the package of measures we expect [...]
Mortgage lending sees strongest quarter since 2008 January 21, 2014 (Laura Lean/City A.M.) Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £17bn in December, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. That's on par with November's total, yet 49 per cent greater than the level seen in December 2012 of £11.4bn. Council of Mortgage Lenders chief economist Bob Pannell says that level was "stronger than [...]