Game plunges into administration March 26, 2012 Struggling video games retailer Game said on Monday it has entered administration, becoming the latest household name to fall by the wayside in the consumer downturn. The firm, which employs 10,000 staff in 1,270 stores in nine European countries and Australia, said it has appointed PwC as its administrator after failing to find a buyer [...]
FSA fines Coutts £8.7m March 26, 2012 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator has fined Coutts – the exclusive private bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland – £8.75m for failings in its anti-money laundering controls systems. In October 2010, the FSA visited Coutts – whose chief executive is Rory Tapner as part of its thematic review into banks’ management of high money-laundering [...]
Energy stocks lift FTSE March 26, 2012 Energy stocks gave the FTSE 100 index renewed impetus in early trading but gains were limited by weaker miners and banks. Fears over China’s growth are still casting a shadow over commodity stocks while banks are still struggling to maintain upward momentum. Aberdeen Asset Management was the top riser, up 2.4 per cent as the [...]
Santander to close 56 branches March 26, 2012 Spain’s Santander is closing 56 branches in Britain to remove overlap in its network after it bolted together three separate businesses, which left it with two branches side by side in some places. Santander’s purchase of Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley during the 2008 financial crisis came four years after it bought Abbey [...]
EasyJet losses narrow March 26, 2012 EasyJet said it expected its first-half loss to be narrower than previously thought as cost control measures and better marketing help the British budget airline offset continuing weakness in the sector. “In a difficult environment for all airlines, improvements in revenue management combined with marketing and website initiatives have enabled EasyJet to take advantage as [...]
Aberdeen sees client cash bounce back March 26, 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management’s clients added £1.48bn of new money to its range of funds in first two months of the year, as investors recovered their appetite for risk and returned to buying equity products. In a trading update on Monday, Aberdeen said its assets under management rose to £184.4bn pounds at end-February, up from £173.9bn [...]
Shells scrambles to pay off $1bn Iran oil debt March 26, 2012 Royal Dutch Shell is struggling to pay off $1bn that it owes Iran for crude oil because European Union and U.S. financial sanctions now make it almost impossible to process payments, industry sources said. Four sources said the oil major owes a large sum to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for deliveries of crude, [...]
Cash for access row hits Tories March 25, 2012 TALKS over the future of party funding are being fast-tracked to the top of the political agenda after the Tory treasurer was caught offering access to the Prime Minister in exchange for large donations. Peter Cruddas was forced to step down yesterday after appearing to promise potential donors the chance to influence government policy. Donors [...]
Boris: I will veto third runway March 25, 2012 LONDON mayor Boris Johnson has insisted he will not support a third runway at Heathrow, despite renewed interest in the plan from other senior Tories. The mayor said the runway would cause “intolerable traffic and fumes in the west of the city – and it will not be built as long as I am mayor [...]
Birds Eye is on block for €3bn March 25, 2012 THE company that owns fish finger maker Birds Eye is being put on the block for a possible €2.9bn (£2.42bn) by Permira, its private equity firm owner. It is understood that Permira has received a number of approaches for Iglo and has appointed Credit Suisse to handle the process. Private equity firms such as Blackstone [...]