SHAKE-UP LOOMS AT MINER ENRC March 18, 2012 MEHMET Dalman (pictured), the new chairman at London-listed mining group ENRC, has asked several board members to resign, according to the Sunday Times. Dalman took up the post last month with permission to shake up the board. The Kazakh government last year staged a dramatic boardroom coup that ousted City grandees Sir Richard Sykes and [...]
Rusal defends new chair to shareholders March 18, 2012 RUSSIAN aluminium company Rusal was forced to defend its choice of new chairman yesterday after Sual Partners, one of its main shareholders, publicly panned the move last week. Rusal said in a statement: “Barry Cheung’s election as a chairman was supported by a majority vote of the board, including the independent directors. This proves that [...]
Crunch time for Game as rent deadline looms March 18, 2012 GAME group has just a week to secure financial support as the stricken video games retailer teeters on the brink of administration. The company, which has about 1,300 shops worldwide trading as Game and Gamestation, revealed last week it was holding talks with potential backers as it attempts to raise more than £100m it needs [...]
Households hit by rising cost of living March 18, 2012 HOUSEHOLD finances remain under intense pressure from rising living costs, according to several leading surveys released this morning. Despite a slowdown in the UK’s official measure of consumer price inflation in recent months, people still fear more price hikes. “Households’ current inflation observations climbed to a six-month peak [this month], while price expectations for the [...]
…yet Brits splash cash while on holiday March 18, 2012 BRITISH holidaymakers splashed £12.4bn while abroad last year, according to data from Visa Europe released this morning. The total was up by a steady two per cent on the previous year, with higher spending expected this summer despite ongoing economic woes. Three in 10 people surveyed said they are planning to holiday abroad in June [...]
China’s manufacturers turn to Europe for innovation March 18, 2012 CHINESE manufacturers are set to snap up a series of firms in Europe as they try to fast-track innovation and development, according to research published today. Large and medium-sized industrial firms in the emerging market economy are mulling more mergers and acquisitions, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. More than half of the senior executives [...]
CITY CYCLISTS SHOW THEY CARE WITH OLYMPIAN CHARITY RIDE March 18, 2012 TEAMS from the City are signing up to CARE’s Gold Bike Ride supported by City A.M. on Saturday 23 June. The route will see cyclists ride a minimum of 65 miles and a maximum of 130 miles of the Olympic Road Race route a month before the nation’s competitors take to the saddle. A team [...]
Japanese help to boost UK tourist trade March 18, 2012 JAPAN’S economic recovery has fuelled a resurgence in Japanese travellers to the UK, helping to boost overall tourist spend by 46 per cent last month compared with the same period last year. Japanese shoppers spent an average of £449 per store when shopping in the UK, with overall spend up by 35 per cent in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 18, 2012 KINGFISHER Bank of America Merrill Lynch rates the retail group “buy” with a target price of 320p. The broker expects to see pre-tax profits of £812m when the firm reports full year results on Thursday, which could feed through to a dividend hike. BAML thinks Kingfisher has the scope to grow its margins further this [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 18, 2012 Carey Olsen The leading legal services provider, with offices in London and the Channel Islands, has announced that Elaine Gray is joining its Guernsey litigation and dispute resolution group. Gray is the second senior level appointment to the department in less than a year, following the arrival of contentious trust specialist Michael McAuley in July [...]