Cable starts review of board appointments September 9, 2013 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable yesterday launched a review into how headhunters select candidates for executive positions, amid fears that women and minorities are still missing out on top jobs. Charlotte Sweeney, a former head of diversity at investment bank Nomura, has been appointed to investigate whether the executive search industry is sticking to the voluntary [...]
TSB boss has museum epiphany September 9, 2013 THE GHOST of retail bankers past inspired the decision to resurrect the TSB brand name out of the huge variety of old high street brands which have been subsumed into the Lloyds Banking Group, its new boss revealed yesterday. Reverend Henry Duncan founded the Trustee Savings Bank in 1810 in Ruthwell, and had such an [...]
Osborne reveals hair-raising cuts September 9, 2013 AMID all of George Osborne’s talk yesterday of “turning a corner” and “sustainable recovery”, the chancellor’s audience seized on the word “cut” – specifically Osborne’s own dodgy chop. So while Osborne earnestly delivered his keynote speech, Twitter users ignored economics to pose a more pressing question: “What’s going on with George Osborne’s hair?” The formerly [...]
Global pension values soar to nudge same levels as US GDP September 9, 2013 THE VALUE of stocks, bonds and property held by the world’s 300 biggest pension funds soared in value last year to reach a record $14 trillion, closing in on the same value as America’s annual GDP (around $15.7 trillion), data shows. Pension fund assets grew by $1.3 trillion in 2012, a 9.8 per cent rise [...]
Banks’ savings account tactics in the spotlight September 9, 2013 BONUS interest rates on savings accounts could be scrapped or face extra rules under a review launched yesterday by City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Top regulator Martin Wheatley said he is studying competition in the trillion-pound cash savings market to see if customers are getting a fair deal. At the start of the [...]
Recruiters point to strongest fourth quarter since the crash September 9, 2013 EMPLOYERS are set to take on more staff in the fourth quarter, with one recruiting group foreseeing the best end to any year since before the financial crisis. According to research published yesterday by Manpower, 2013 is likely to have the strongest fourth quarter for hiring since 2007, as the budding economic recovery begins to [...]
Euro investors see confidence return as long recession ends September 9, 2013 INVESTORS’ confidence in the euro area surged upward in August, as a major index of sentiment heads back into positive territory for the first time in two years. The Sentix index rose to 6.5, the highest level since the European Central Bank’s ill-fated decision to raise interest rates in 2011, and the second largest single-month [...]
Abe’s tax hike plan helped by strong growth September 9, 2013 ROBUST growth for Japan between April and June has been revised further, up from 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent, following the country’s programme of radical monetary easing. Coming swiftly after the announcement that Tokyo will host the summer Olympic games in 2020, the Nikkei index reacted well yesterday, rising by 2.48 per cent [...]
Apollo Global beats bidders to the punch to land Evo Banco September 9, 2013 US PRIVATE equity group Apollo Global Management has beaten a host of bidders in the race to land Spanish lender Evo Banco after snapping up the firm for €60m (£50.6m) yesterday. A handful of bidders, including UK financial services group Anacap and US firm Centerbridge, are thought to have been in the race to buy [...]
Hopes that Chinese economy is stabilising as inflation steadies September 9, 2013 MUTED inflation data yesterday added to a run of August figures suggesting the protracted slowdown in China’s economy may be bottoming out, helped by targeted support measures and signs of improved export demand. A steady consumer inflation rate also gives the People’s Bank of China some room to manoeuvre in response to any shock that [...]