Glencore float fuels wealth of UK’s super rich April 29, 2012 THE wealth of Britain’s richest people, including a series of investors in Glencore, jumped by nearly five per cent to a record £414bn last year, according to new research. The combined assets of the 1,000 most affluent people rose 4.7 per cent, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, despite the nation’s plunge back into [...]
Recession hits firms’ ability to pay back debts April 29, 2012 MORE companies will fail to pay back loans now Britain is in recession, Ernst and Young economists forecast this morning, warning the corporate loans market will only return to pre-crisis levels in 2016. Lending to firms is expected to fall 6.8 per cent this year to £419bn, following last year’s 6.1 per cent drop as [...]
Labour MPs want investigation into alleged mis-selling to SMEs April 29, 2012 SMALL and medium-sized enterprises may have been ripped off by banks mis-selling financial products, and the government needs to offer more help, Labour shadow ministers argued yesterday. Toby Perkins and Chris Leslie yesterday called on the government to push for a full investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) into interest rate swap products that [...]
Drive for mass vote on exec remuneration April 29, 2012 PENSION savers and ISA holders are today being urged to contact their fund managers and urge them to vote down excessive pay packages. The campaign by FairPensions argues that institutional investors have failed to stop “spiralling pay awards at FTSE 100 companies,” and that activism from savers could be the best way to influence pay [...]
Confidence up despite a new GDP downturn April 29, 2012 CONSUMERS are increasingly confident and feel more secure in their jobs than they did three months ago, according to a study out today, despite the UK officially returning to recession in the last quarter. Deloitte’s consumer tracker shows a fragile picture and only a small improvement on the final quarter of 2011, but does expect [...]
Hotel prices rocket on demand for Jubilee weekends in London April 29, 2012 HOTEL prices are soaring in the run-up to the Jubilee in June, according to a study out today from Santander, with some rising by as much as 223 per cent. The survey found London hotel prices rising by an average of 54 per cent over the Jubilee weekend compared with the same length of stay [...]
Firms fear bribery regulations April 29, 2012 A quarter of middle managers believe the Bribery Act is affecting Britain’s competitiveness, according to research out today from Ernst and Young. Of those worried, 78 per cent cited the effects of losing out to competitors paying bribes and 22 per cent the cost of compliance placed on firms. However, Ernst and Young’s John Smart [...]
British shipping trade booming April 29, 2012 The UK’s sea trade is worth £513bn, equivalent to over a third of the country’s GDP and is set to climb further, according to research out yesterday from the RSA shipping forecast and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The study predicts trade values will exceed £700bn by 2017, a further 37 per cent [...]
Market problems push up bills April 29, 2012 Inefficiencies in the energy market could mean customers lose out on up to £1.9bn in savings by 2020, the Institute for public policy research (IPPR) warned today. The report argues tougher regulations are needed to improve competition and ensure pricing is fair for consumers. Annual savings of just 2.5 per cent could leave consumers almost [...]
Money for old money at royal sovereign sale April 29, 2012 NEXT WEEK one of London’s oldest coin auction houses will host a sale particularly fitting for the Diamond Jubilee year, as a collection of coins representing the power and glory of Queen Elizabeth II’s predecessors goes on sale. On 8 May the house will sell the first part of the Bentley Collection – a multi-million [...]