Syria attack on hold amid UN debate on arms September 11, 2013 LEADING world powers were last night debating a Russian proposal to neutralise Syria’s chemical weapons, as the prospect of imminent strikes on the Middle Eastern country retreated. The five permanent members of the UN security council met in New York to discuss a Russian proposal that would see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad voluntarily give up [...]
Royal Mail float this morning September 11, 2013 ROYAL Mail will this morning take the first formal step towards ending its 497 year stint as an arm of the British state and confirm that it intends to float on the London Stock Exchange. But unions are promising strike action to disrupt the flotation, which could see the company be valued at £3bn when [...]
Deutsche loses Libor tribunal September 11, 2013 FOUR Deutsche Bank traders yesterday won an unfair dismissal case after they were sacked for inappropriate communication on interbank lending rates. The traders, who were responsible for producing the bank’s submissions on the Euribor and Libor interest rates, lost their jobs in February after an internal investigation into rate setting. But a court in Frankfurt [...]
Rise in new jobs casts doubt on Bank rates plan September 11, 2013 STRONG figures released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday showed a significant drop in unemployment, casting doubt on the Bank of England’s new policy on rates. The rate of joblessness has become even more important since Bank of England governor Mark Carney revealed his forward guidance plan in August, announcing that current historically [...]
Analyst Views: What do new labour market figures mean for the economy? September 11, 2013 HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “Earnings growth may well pick up over the coming months, but the increase seems likely to be gradual as companies look to contain their costs in a still very competitive environment and still appreciable labour market slack limits workers’ ability to push for higher pay. CHRIS WILLIAMSON | [...]
Lloyds ordered to give another £240m to help build new TSB September 11, 2013 NEW HIGH street lender TSB was given another boost last night as the Office for Fair Trading (OFT) said its parent Lloyds should give it more financial help to establish a foothold in the market. The decision is believed to remove the final hurdle before the government can go ahead with selling Lloyds Bank, as [...]
Vivendi mulls plan to divide company in two September 11, 2013 UNIVERSAL Music owner Vivendi yesterday said it would consider plans to hive off telecom unit SFR off from the rest of its media business. The French conglomerate said it would make the decision on cutting loose SFR, a French business, by early 2014. “Vivendi’s supervisory board has unanimously decided to launch a study to split [...]
Bumi slips out of FTSE 250 after index kicks out troubled miner September 11, 2013 COALMINER Bumi yesterday slipped out of the FTSE 250 at the index’s quarterly review, bringing an end to a deeply unsuccessful spell in the top tiers of British business. The company will now became a member of the FTSE Small Cap index. Set up in 2010 by Nat Rothschild, Bumi has endured a turbulent existence [...]
United States remembers 9/11 September 11, 2013 THE US yesterday remembered the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary, including at the Empty Sky memorial in New Jersey. The attacks killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Zurich appoints new chair after death of exec September 11, 2013 ZURICH Insurance yesterday appointed Tom de Swaan to be its chairman, as the company starts rebuilding its board following the death of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier. Wauthier committed suicide last month, leaving behind a note in which he allegedly blamed Zurich’s ex-chairman Josef Ackermann for putting him under excessive pressure at work. Ackerman resigned [...]