Regulator told to reform high pension fees December 9, 2013 ANNUITY fees may be “excessive” and need investigating, the Financial Services Consumer Panel said yesterday, pushing for more transparency in the sector. Its report found insurers making profits twenty times greater on annuities than on other products, indicating inefficiencies in the market and bad deals for savers. The huge fee incomes are possible as a [...]
Float fever to shake up FTSE indices in reshuffle December 9, 2013 THE ROYAL Mail could break into the FTSE 100 tomorrow, one of several newly listed companies which are candidates to join the FTSE in its quarterly reshuffle. The postal group is set to knock Vedanta Resources out of the blue chip index after its bumper share price rise since its float made it one of [...]
Royal Mail to deliver pay lift December 9, 2013 ROYAL Mail has agreed to give postal workers a nine per cent pay rise over three years and a £200 Christmas bonus. The deal, brokered with the Communications Workers Union – which represents 80 per cent of the 139,000 postal workers – will also protect job conditions for five years and lift pension contributions. The [...]
US state exits stake in GM December 9, 2013 THE US government finally sold its last shares of General Motors yesterday, leaving taxpayers saddled with a total shortfall of about $10bn on the car-maker’s 2009 bailout. “With the final sale of GM stock, this important chapter in our nation’s history is now closed,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said. Washington DC came to the rescue of America’s [...]
Tesco buys part of Asian grocer December 9, 2013 TESCO has bought a minority stake in south east Asia’s largest online retailer Lazada, the supermarket chain confirmed yesterday. Tesco declined to say exactly how much it had spent on the acquisition but said the deal was worth “ten of millions” of pounds. Lazada was founded last year by German brothers Oliver, Marc and Alexander [...]
Finance bosses point to first quarter of 2014 for jobs boost December 9, 2013 NEW FINANCE and business services positions are set to dominate job creation during the first quarter of 2014, with huge compensation on offer for the most demanded skills. Across all sectors, five per cent more firms expect to hire than to shed workers, but financial services are more confident, as 11 per cent more say [...]
Waitrose fails to beat prices December 9, 2013 DISCOUNTED products made up an increasing proportion of Waitrose’s sales, the retailer said yesterday, as it reported sales increasing by less than inflation. Sales rose by 0.8 per cent last week compared to the same week of 2012. However, over the same period prices increased by 2.2 per cent, outstripping sales. The proportion made up [...]
Lenders facing prop trading ban in America December 9, 2013 THE VOLCKER Rule is set to be approved today by regulators, who are voting on the controversial plans to ban banks from trading with their own money. New regulations will also restrict banks’ investment in hedge funds, as part of a wider set of measures to reduce the risks banks take. The rule is named [...]
Germany and France closer to bank union December 9, 2013 FRENCH and German politicians were last night close to a deal on the banking union, making progress towards deciding how failed banks are funded. Germany has wanted national authorities to take the lead, while France has argued for a central fund. “There has to be both a single resolution fund and a role given to national [...]
Barclays equity boss Dean to take sabbatical December 9, 2013 BARCLAYS announced unexpectedly yesterday that Sam Dean, its highly popular and experienced head of equity capital markets in Europe, is taking a sabbatical for family reasons. The news comes at the end of a year during which Dean’s team enjoyed prominence in a number of transactions, acting in the privatisation of Royal Mail and on [...]