Saxo Bank boss to leave the board September 21, 2015 SAXO Bank’s co-founder and co-chief executive Lars Seier Christensen has decided to step down at the end of 2015, after 20 years on the company’s board. His co-founder Kim Fournais will continue as sole chief exec. From 1 January 2016, Saxo’s board will consist of Fournais, Steen Blaafalk, group finance chief and risk officer, and [...]
Channel 4 bids to retain Lord Burns as chair September 21, 2015 Channel 4 is reported to be in talks with government officials and the media regulator, Ofcom, in a bid to retain Lord Burns as its chairman beyond the end of his second term in January. Discussions are taking place between Ofcom and the department for culture, media and sport (DCMS), according to Sky News, which [...]
Rail adds £10.1 bn to UK economy September 21, 2015 Britian’s rail industry is adding up to £10.1bn a year to the national economy, according to a new report. Economists at Oxera Consulting carried out the research on behalf of the Rail Delivery Group, an industry lobby group representing train operators. The economists found that rail boosts economic productivity by up to £11.3bn each year [...]
US home resales cool off in August September 21, 2015 FOLLOWING three consecutive months of gains, the rate of US home resales fell by more than analysts’ forecasts in August, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) yesterday. The annualised figure was down 4.8 per cent in August from an eight-year high of 5.58m in July. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun [...]
Stevia maker PureCircle aims for main market as profits rise September 21, 2015 STEVIA ingredients producer PureCircle is set to move to the London Stock Exchange’s main market, after reporting a 78 per cent rise in profits for the year to 30 June 2015. The firm’s revenue jumped 26 per cent to $127m (£82m). PureCircle’s increased profitability has been driven by a rise in demand for natural sugar [...]
Small business owners feel benefits of growing economy September 21, 2015 Two thirds of small business owners are confident about the opportunities for business growth over the next five years. A survey by insurers Axa shows that 62 per cent of SME owners say they are thriving as a result of owning their own business. Glen Parkinson, SME business director at Axa PPP healthcare, said: “It’s [...]
Medium-sized deal makers join the M&A party September 21, 2015 COMPANIES involved in takeovers have been financially outperforming their peers in recent months, new research showed yesterday. Acquirers in medium-sized deals, between $100m (£64m) and $1bn, outperformed a global index of companies by 14 percentage points in the three months to September, research from Towers Watson and Cass Business School shows. Larger deals – over [...]
Lockhart confident the US will see an interest rate rise this year September 21, 2015 THE FEDERAL Reserve can still hike rates this year, a US central banker said last night. “I am confident the much-used phrase ‘later this year’ is still operative,” Dennis Lockhart, who votes on the rate-setting committee, said yesterday. “As things settle down, I will be ready for the first policy move on the path to a [...]
City Moves for 22 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 21, 2015 LEGAL & GENERAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Katharine Photiou has been appointed head of workplace defined contribution, product and proposition, at the investment management firm. She joins from Barclays, where she was head of workplace savings. Photiou has also held roles at Mercer and Friends Provident, latterly as head of defined contribution corporate strategy and design. JP [...]
Wall St rises despite fall in biotech shares – New York Report September 21, 2015 THE MAJOR US stock indexes ended higher yesterday, rebounding from losses late last week with help from Apple and financial shares, but a drop in biotech shares limited Nasdaq’s advance. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 125.54 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 16,510.12, the S&P 500 gained 9.03 points, or 0.46 per cent, to [...]