Analysts look to Osborne speech for giveaways November 28, 2013 UK ECONOMISTS laid out the possibilities for chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn statement yesterday, with less than a week to go until his speech. Capital Economics, PwC, BDO and IHS Global Insight issued their own expectations for the announcement, which will set the course for the government’s economic policies in the months ahead. Most expect the coalition [...]
Europe’s banks told they have €280bn hole November 28, 2013 EUROPE’S banks have a capital hole of €280bn (£233bn) and will have to issue €180bn in new equity to plug the gap, analysts at PwC estimated yesterday. The tide of new rules and clarifications around capital requirements, leverage rules and risk weightings is expected to push the requirements to the top of lenders’ agendas. And [...]
Low cap on workplace pension fees will hurt small businesses November 28, 2013 A LEADING pensions provider has called on the government to cap management fees on workplace pensions at 0.5 per cent, in a move out of step with the wider industry. Legal & General made the comments as part of a consultation into pension fees, which ended yesterday. “These look like tiny slivers of money, fractions [...]
Student debt of £5bn unaccounted for as government loses track November 28, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is not doing enough to ensure student loans are repaid, the National Audit Office has warned. Around 368,000 students are unaccounted for by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the spending watchdog has discovered. They collectively owe more than £5bn and may be unemployed or overseas. The NAO reports that 14,000 students are [...]
BDO revenues surge after its tie-up with PKF November 28, 2013 ACCOUNTANCY group BDO posted a 10 per cent rise in revenues today as last year’s merger with PKF has helped to swell the company’s client list. The firm, which works with mid-market corporate clients, said turnover in the year to July was £312m, while underlying profits rose six per cent to £55m. Average profit per [...]
Marston’s sells off 200 pubs to New River Retail as profits grow November 28, 2013 PUB AND and brewing company Marston’s said yesterday it will sell 202 pubs to property group New River Retail for £90m as part of efforts to reduce debt and help pay for its new pub-restaurants. Marston’s, which has 2,100 pubs in the UK, said it was trying to shift from pubs focused on drinking to pubs [...]
New report hits out at costly green scheme November 28, 2013 THE DEBATE into the UK’s green plans flared up yesterday as a new report claimed that an energy efficiency scheme is set to waste £610m unless reforms are made. Research by energy consultants EUM called for reform to the Energy Companies Obligation (Eco), a government energy-saving initiative that mandates firms to insulate their poorest customers’ [...]
Inside Track: John Peace prepares to shake up Standard Chartered board November 28, 2013 In the past few days there have been suggestions that relations within the Standard Chartered boardroom aren’t all that they might be. The emerging markets-focused bank survived the financial crisis intact only to see its reputation damaged last year by getting caught up in a sanctions-busting scandal.“ The event led to questions over the chairmanship [...]
Thomas Cook’s cost cuts deliver return to profit November 28, 2013 THOMAS Cook shares leapt 14.7 per cent yesterday after the travel group said the first full year of Harriet Green’s turnaround plan had produced more cost savings than expected. The firm also beat forecasts with a 49 per cent rise in underlying earnings to £263m, while revenues rose 1.3 per cent to £9.3bn. On a [...]
Bottom Line: Green looks golden but she still has much further to go November 28, 2013 THOMAS Cook has come a long way in a year, but the travel firm’s new Let’s Go! slogan is still the watchword. Chief executive Harriet Green put the tour operator on a radical diet: closing 227 UK stores, cutting 2,500 jobs, more than halving its brands from 85 to 30, and selling its stake in [...]