Rising output eases fears of recession March 11, 2012 PRIVATE sector output has continued to expand in nearly every English region, a survey by Lloyds TSB revealed this morning. The latest purchasing managers’ index showed that output grew in every region except for the south west. “Despite an overall dip in growth from January’s high, private sector activity across the English regions still expanded [...]
Business morale springs back March 11, 2012 BUSINESS confidence jumped to a nine-month high last month according to a survey released this morning, suggesting that the UK has avoided a double dip recession. And in another positive sign for the economic recovery, a separate study shows that small firms are feeling more upbeat. Over half of members polled by the Federation of [...]
Lending to small firms declines despite scheme March 11, 2012 A GOVERNMENT scheme to boost lending to small companies is on the wane, according to a lending advisory service. Lending under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme dipped to £77.8m in the final three months of last year – a drop of 24 per cent from 12 months earlier. The EFG programme sees the government [...]
DIXON SETS SAIL FOR A PLUSH NEW HABITAT March 11, 2012 Tom Dixon, Habitat’s former head of design, has conjured up interiors for some of London’s swankiest hangouts including Shoreditch House, the Paramount Club at the top of Centre Point and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant at One New Change. The British designer is now moving into uncharted waters: turning Sea Containers House on London’s South Bank [...]
EASTENDERS BUZZ FOR GHERKIN March 11, 2012 At the end of a long day The Capitalist likes nothing more than sipping a drink in the bar at the top of The Gherkin – or 30 St Mary’s Axe as it’s known to its mother – and taking in the spectacular views across London. But we might struggle to get a table after [...]
RETENTION NOT UPTAKE BLAMED FOR MALE RULE March 11, 2012 Some of the City’s most formidable faces gathered on Friday to discuss the plight of women in business. The panel, held the day after International Women’s Day, focussed on “the disappearance of talented women from the management pipeline of British companies,” putting the low number of women in boardrooms down to a problem of retention [...]
Trinity Mirror faces uproar over Sly Bailey’s pay packet March 11, 2012 TRINITY Mirror is said to be taking seriously concerns raised by top shareholders about the rewards bestowed on chief executive Sly Bailey, ahead of the media group’s results on Thursday. The company’s top shareholders – Schroders, Aviva Investors, Standard Life and Legal & General – collectively own 42 per cent of Trinity Mirror and have [...]
Olympic Media Buzz LONDON 2012 PARTNERS March 11, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partners, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 29 February to Wednesday 7 March. The announcement that Adidas had its best-ever annual profits, [...]
UK retailers catch the February chill March 11, 2012 BRITISH RETAILERS suffered a slump in footfall last month as shoppers stayed away during the coldest February in over a decade and momentum from mid-market spenders continued to lag. The number of shoppers hitting Britain’s shops in February was down 5.7 per cent compared with the same month last year, according to research by retail [...]
Chair’s wife poised to join Volkswagen supervisory board March 11, 2012 URSULA Piech, the wife of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech, is poised to join the carmaker’s supervisory board at its annual meeting next month. A company spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that Ursula Piech would be a candidate for the board of Europe’s biggest carmaker, replacing TUI chief executive Michael Frenzel. Ferdinand Piech, who will turn 75 two [...]