DLR staff vote to strike January 12, 2011 CANARY WHARF is set to endure another round of travel misery, after workers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) voted in favour of strike action yesterday. The RMT union said 162 staff from operator Serco Docklands voted to strike, with 36 voting against action in a dispute over pensions, working hours and redundancies. David Stretch, [...]
Ponzi scheme man pleads guilty January 12, 2011 A fraudster who conned more than 700 people out of a total of £14m yesterday pleaded guilty to deceiving investors. He spent the cash on holiday homes, a diamond ring and a set of City offices. Like the frauds of New York conman Bernie Madoff, Terry Freeman’s scheme was revealed when investors began to ask [...]
EU plans package to confront debt crisis January 12, 2011 THE Eurozone is preparing a “comprehensive” package to confront its sovereign debt crisis, as Spain prepares for today’s first crucial bond sale of 2011, a year in which it must refinance a quarter of its debt. European Commission president Jose Manuel Borroso called for Eurozone leaders to beef up the region’s rescue facility yesterday, with increased [...]
Default retirement age to end as state pension is delayed January 12, 2011 WORKERS will no longer be forced to retire at 65 under rules to stamp out age discrimination published by the government today in direct defiance of fierce lobbying from business groups to delay the measure. The scrapping of the default retirement age (DRA), first proposed by the coalition government last July, will be phased in [...]
Crossrail chief executive quits in surprise move January 12, 2011 THE chief executive of the £16bn Crossrail project has resigned, just months after the transport scheme’s future was guaranteed in the comprehensive spending review. Rob Holden is to step down this year, the group said yesterday. Crossrail, one of Europe’s biggest construction projects, will connect Maidenhead in Berkshire with Shenfield in Essex, passing through the [...]
City responds to calls to make a commitment to personal finance January 12, 2011 SINCE the launch of City A.M.’s Campaign for Financial Literacy yesterday, the number of positive responses received from City firms that are already engaged in education initiatives has been incredibly encouraging. Financial planners Killik, for example, has been developing a web-based tutorial known as Money in Mind. The site uses simple graphics and language to [...]
Mecom turns down merger suggestion January 12, 2011 MECOM, the European regional newspaper group, has turned down a takeover approach from Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Mirror titles. The approach, which came in a telephone call from Trinity chairman Sir Ian Gibson a few weeks ago, according to Sky News, was rejected by his opposite number at Mecom. No announcements were made to [...]
Npower to sell power to the Grid January 12, 2011 Energy company Npower plans to step in to support the National Grid during times of high energy demand by using its customers to help power the network. Around 50 industrial sites in the UK are already paid by the Grid to offer their stand-by generators for national use when the network is stressed, most recently [...]
Russian miner plans LSE float January 12, 2011 Russian coal and iron ore miner OAO Koks said yesterday it plans to float in London raising £400m to expand its operations. The Siberian based firm, which is controlled by Boris Zubitsky and his family, plans to offer shares and global depositary receipts in the business in Moscow and London. The firm said in 2009 [...]
Morgan Stanley fund raises $1bn January 12, 2011 MORGAN Stanley Investment Management, the asset management unit of Morgan Stanley (MS), said its first dedicated corporate mezzanine fund has closed with $956m (£607m) in capital from investors, in the largest such launch in a year. The fund, Morgan Stanley Credit Partners, or MS Credit, invests primarily in fixed income securities issued by middle-market companies [...]