Eurozone’s consumer morale shows some sign of recovery January 23, 2013 CONSUMER confidence in the euro area has jumped sharply in the first month of 2013, a survey showed yesterday, while separate data revealed that the debt ratios of Eurozone governments are beginning to stabilise. And on a rare day of positive figures for the single currency area, Portuguese debt yields fell to their lowest since [...]
Lloyds renews job cutting plan with another 940 staff to go January 23, 2013 LLOYDS staff in roles from IT support to insurance to branch management were yesterday notified they will be leaving the bank as it continued to roll out its plan to cut another 15,000 jobs. Lloyds informed 940 staff across the country they will be losing their jobs over the next three to six months, depending [...]
Retail bonds considered for compensation January 23, 2013 PROVIDERS of a new high-profile investment product are actively lobbying to be included in a government-run compensation programme, City A.M. has learned. Oliver Cardigan, a director at Numis Securities, said his company has had discussions with “top people in government” in the hope of extending consumer protection to retail bonds. Numis want the FSA-controlled Financial Services [...]
Banking depositors’ backstop beefs up its governing board January 23, 2013 TWO top lawyers were yesterday appointed to the board of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to bolster the leadership team after the departure of two veteran members. The FSCS acts as a fund of last resort for depositors in broken banks and building societies – if they go under, deposits are guaranteed up to [...]
New look browsing for debt restructure January 23, 2013 NEW LOOK is in talks with banks over refinancing its £1.1bn debt, following improved trading. The fashion retailer, whose designers include Kelly Brook (above), has revamped stores in a bid to attract older customers. New Look reported a 3.7 per cent like-for-like sales rise at Christmas, and is seen to be able to attract lower interest [...]
Icy times between fund managers and bankers January 23, 2013 ARROGANT, indolent, avaricious – and these are some of the politer adjectives applied to investment bankers and private equity firms during their ongoing stand-off with City fund managers. The permafrost between them has shown few signs of thawing since two BlackRock executives outlined in 2011 a litany of gripes about the way bankers sell new [...]
Tui Travel’s merger talks with parent fail January 23, 2013 JUST a week after revealing they were in merger talks, Tui Travel and its German parent Tui AG have called off discussions, sending shares in the FTSE 100 company tumbling nearly five per cent. Tui AG, which owns 56 per cent of Tui Travel, said the nil-premium merger on the table was not attractive based [...]
McDonald’s to create 2,500 UK jobs as it reveals rise in sales January 23, 2013 MCDONALD’S announced plans yesterday to create 2,500 jobs at its restaurants this year, taking its UK workforce to 93,500. The world’s biggest restaurant group said the move builds on the 3,500 jobs created in 2012, of which 70 per cent were taken by young people under the age of 21. Business secretary Vince Cable, who [...]
Jessops brand eyed by Hilco January 23, 2013 HILCO emerged yesterday as the front runner to buy the brand of collapsed camera chain Jessops. The retail restructuring firm, which bought HMV’s debt from its lenders on Tuesday, is understood to be mulling a plan to open Jessops concessions in HMV’s stores. Administrators PwC have received around half a dozen expressions of interest for [...]
Amazon gains over Christmas January 23, 2013 AMAZON tightened its grip on CD, DVD and game sales at Christmas, taking a quarter of the market at the expense of the high street. Research from Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment found that the online retailer took 23.4 per cent of entertainment sales in the 12 weeks to 23 December, up from 20.3 per cent last [...]