Firms cut out Eurozone’s banks when looking for debt finance December 9, 2013 MARKETS still do not trust Europe’s banks, leaving them with higher funding costs than the banks they want to service, the bank of International Settlements (BIS) said yesterday. Banks must pay an average of more than three per cent, while an A-rated company can pay below two per cent for an equivalent loan and a [...]
Central bankers ring low rate warning bell December 9, 2013 BUSINESSES and investors should be cautious in issuing junk bonds which are repaid in kind, central bankers group the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said yesterday. The sustained low-rate era may have given financial markets an excessive sense of security, the report said, warning a rate hike could spell trouble in the sector. BIS is [...]
Bronze for UK in ranks of trade-friendly countries December 9, 2013 THE BRITISH tax system is one of the most well-equipped in the world to benefit from further trade and globalisation, coming joint third in the ranks of 27 countries’ systems. In UHY’s list of countries most prepared to capitalise from a boost to international trade, the UK is positioned behind only Slovakia and Germany, alongside [...]
Saga poaches Domino’s Pizza boss Batchelor December 9, 2013 PRIVATE equity-backed insurer Saga yesterday named Domino’s Pizza boss Lance Batchelor as its new chief executive. Batchelor, a former Royal Navy submarine officer and Domino’s chief executive since December 2011, will leave the fast food chain in April to join Saga, almost four years after he first joined Domino’s as a non-executive director. Batchelor’s departure [...]
Advisers December 9, 2013 NIGEL FOX CAPITAL REAL ESTATE PARTNERS CAPITAL Real Estate Partners was brought in alongside Rothschild to advise London Bridge Holdings on the sale of More London. Leading the team on behalf of Capital Real Estate was Nigel Fox, who co-founded the niche London agency in January 2010 after more than two decades working in central [...]
Labour would include pension in welfare cap December 9, 2013 LABOUR would include the state pension in a welfare cap, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie has said. Speaking on the BBC’s Daily Politics show yesterday, Leslie said that pensions should be considered part of the cap in the long term as people continue to live longer. His comments come just days [...]
Supermarkets grow ahead of shopping malls December 8, 2013 THE AMOUNT of space being added by UK supermarkets has overtaken that being added by shopping centres for the first time, despite some retailers calling an end to the space race as consumers shift to shopping online. The pipeline of grocery developments has grown by 67 per cent, or 19.24m square feet (sq ft) since [...]
Online frenzy drives growth at John Lewis ahead of Christmas December 8, 2013 JOHN Lewis posted a 1.8 per cent rise in sales to £144.5m in the week to 7 December, boosted by another record performance by its online business. Johnlewis.com sales rose 22 per cent compared to the same week last year – a second consecutive week in which the site has taken over a third of [...]
Bottom Line: Despite the convenience boom, UK grocers are still thinking big December 8, 2013 IF YOU need reminding of the grocery sector’s continuing ambition, all you have to do is step outside your office to the nearest supermarket convenience store. These compact ventures have sprung up across city centres, going from 2,000 branches in 1998 to 14,000 and climbing today, a rate of increase that may seem to put [...]
Sir Stuart Rose hits out at UK work culture December 8, 2013 OCADO chair Sir Stuart Rose yesterday hit out at people who complain immigrants are taking too many UK jobs, saying they should stop complaining and accept any work on offer. “I believe that if I was out of work tomorrow morning that I could find a job by tomorrow afternoon and it is up to [...]