RSA hires Lloyds non-exec Scicluna as chair November 22, 2012 CITY veteran Martin Scicluna will step down from the board of Lloyds Banking Group to take up the chairmanship of insurer RSA, the firms confirmed yesterday. Scicluna will take up his new role at RSA on 1 January, and leave his non-executive post at Lloyds in March, following more than four years on the board. [...]
Rothschild lands £169m boost November 22, 2012 BUMI co-founder Nat Rothschild said yesterday he had raised $270m (£169m) to fund his counter proposal to take over the London-listed miner. Rothschild’s NR Investments has committed funds alongside other investors – understood to include Robert Friedland and Indonesian Hashim Djojohadikusumo – for a proposal to sever ties with Bumi Resources. “The independent board members [...]
Pinnacle told to pay £16m to Brookfield November 22, 2012 THE BUILDERS of the Pinnacle skyscraper could seize the site from its owners after winning a High Court claim worth millions of pounds in unpaid fees. Brookfield Multiplex launched a series of claims over the past year against the owners of the 63-storey tower in a bid to recover four separate payments for work undertaken [...]
Cable wants more activist shareholders November 22, 2012 INVESTORS should get together to exert greater pressure on businesses, using a forum to establish common ground to better force company directors to fit shareholders’ long term aims, business secretary Vince Cable urged yesterday. And he said a new stewardship code, binding shareholders’ votes on pay and proposed rules to force fund managers to act [...]
Eurozone faces worst services drop since 2009 November 22, 2012 THE EUROZONE’S service sector fell to an even steeper decline in November, data revealed yesterday, keeping overall activity at levels suggesting sharp economic contraction. Service activity fell to 45.7 this month, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit said, down from 46 in October and solidly below the 50 level indicating no change. This fall [...]
UBS is still a big player despite recent predicaments November 22, 2012 Anybody taking just a cursory glance at the headlines about UBS’s investment bank recently, might be forgiven for thinking it was something of a basket case. What with the news of a plan to shrink headcount by 10,000, a strategic refocusing of strategy away from high risk, complex trading products, followed by a guilty verdict [...]
Reckitt secures healthy boost with Schiff deal November 22, 2012 CONSUMER products group Reckitt Benckiser is to acquire Schiff Nutrition for $1.4bn (£878m). The board of Schiff Nutrition, which sells vitamins, nutrition supplements and nutrition bars, has approved the transaction at $42 a share and recommended shareholders agree the deal. The FTSE 100 consumer group will finance the deal using cash and existing credit facilities. [...]
Barclays quits open outcry trade at LME November 22, 2012 MAJOR commodities player Barclays quit open outcry floor trading at the London Metal Exchange (LME) yesterday, downgrading its membership at the world’s biggest marketplace for industrial metals to cut costs. The commodities operations of banks like Barclays face tough times and total commodities trading turnover for the 10 biggest investment banks has tumbled 20 per [...]
Death knell for final salary in pension rejig November 22, 2012 A NEW workplace pension model was proposed yesterday in an effort to limit the financial risk for both employers and employees. Under the controversial proposals, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested an employer can end a final salary pension scheme when an employee leaves the firm, thereby cutting the firms’ risk exposure. [...]
Sarah Brown joins Harrods board November 22, 2012 SARAH Brown, the wife of former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has been appointed as a non-executive director of Harrods, the luxury department store said yesterday. Brown will work within the marketing and corporate social responsibility division.