Debenhams profit rises April 19, 2012 Debenhams reported a 1.4 per cent rise in profit to £127.1m for the six months to 3 March.
Persimmon in strong start to 2012 April 19, 2012 British housebuilder Persimmon said it had made a good start to 2012 with both visitor levels and orders up on last year, boosted in part by a new government mortgage scheme. The group, which in February cheered shareholders with a promise to return 1.9 billion pounds of surplus cash to them over the next decade, [...]
BA fined £58m over price fixing case April 19, 2012 Britain’s Office of Fair Trading said it had fined British Airways £58.5m for price fixing in relation to fuel surcharges, imposing a penalty that is less than half that agreed in August 2007. The case against British Airways, which colluded with rival Virgin Atlantic in pricing surcharges on long-haul flights, has been a long and [...]
EXCLUSIVE: KEN LIVINGSTONE ADMITS HE USES PRIVATE HEALTHCARE April 18, 2012 KEN Livingstone, the Labour candidate to be Mayor of London and a noted opponent of NHS privatisation, uses private healthcare services, City A.M. has learned. A spokesperson for the 66-year-old Livingstone said he uses an “external provider” for annual check-ups, in an admission that is sure to lead to accusations of hypocrisy. “Like many people [...]
Fuel drivers reject deal raising fears national tanker strike will go ahead April 18, 2012 THE THREAT of a national fuel tanker strike reared its head again yesterday when union reps rejected a deal with distribution firms after six days of talks. Unite the union, which has until Friday to call a strike, said the proposal on the table did not go far enough on work standards and security for [...]
Silence of the doves as inflation concerns grow April 18, 2012 AFTER tolerating the UK’s high inflation for years, Bank of England officials have suddenly begun to worry that it is not coming down towards its two per cent target as they had hoped. The Bank had predicted inflation would fall to its target before the end of the year, but deputy governor Paul Tucker yesterday [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Ackman plans listing for $4bn fund Pershing Square Capital, the $11bn hedge fund run by high-profile US activist investor Bill Ackman, is planning a $4bn public flotation for a new fund in January 2013. Ackman intends to float the vehicle, which has already been set up in Guernsey and is known as Pershing [...]
Eurozone banks face $2.3 trillion firesale, says IMF April 18, 2012 EUROPEAN banks could be forced into selling off $2.3 trillion worth of assets as they battle to regain investors’ trust, the IMF warned yesterday. The Washington based fund expects EU-based banks to sell almost seven per cent of their total assets – a staggering $2.3 trillion – over the next 20 months as they attempt [...]
Auditing watchdog gets serious April 18, 2012 The national auditing watchdog is considering imposing higher fines based on a percentage of annual turnover, with a similar approach based on total remuneration for punishing individual partners, rather than using past rulings as a benchmark. The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board yesterday unveiled draft guidelines for imposing “credible” fines which are “proportionate to the [...]
EC to approve Sony’s EMI takeover April 18, 2012 The European Commission is today set to approve Sony’s £1.4bn takeover of EMI’s music publishing division. To placate competition concerns, the music giant is prepared to sell off some of EMI’s music publishing catalogues, which roll in €25m (£20.5m) a year. It was revealed late last month that Sony – which is bidding for the [...]