Emerging markets’ illness small but persistent October 10, 2010 FAR BE it for me to ruin your Monday but I am starting to get a bad feeling about emerging markets. Let me put that in context. On a medical scale I would call it more of a slight itch than a life-threatening condition, but it is definitely persistent. EMERGING MARKETS GROWTH SLOWS HSBC knows a thing [...]
Why Gatwick Airport’s new chief has Heathrow lined up in his sights October 10, 2010 SOME people need to have a lot on their plates if they are to thrive – and Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s newish boss, is clearly one of these. The 39-year-old took up his post last December when the airport was bought by US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for £1.5bn from Ferrovial-owned airports operator BAA, which [...]
INSIDE THE MISCHIEVOUS MIND OF A FIXED INCOME BONDS ANALYST October 10, 2010 EVER wondered about the fantasies of a bonds analyst? Well, no, we can’t say we did either, until Evolution Securities’ Gary Jenkins decided to bare all in his column for Credit Matters. Fresh from his promotion to head of fixed income, Jenkins’ megalomaniacal ambitions know no limit: he imagines himself in a new role as [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK October 10, 2010 What better way for a bunch of flashy advertising executives to while away a Sunday evening than knocking back Mad Men themed cocktails at the exclusive, members-only Bureau Club in Soho. The lucky ad men expressed their approval for the fuller figured woman, enjoyed a dozen sultry Miss Holloways compared to a paltry two Darling [...]
US economy loses 95,000 jobs October 8, 2010 The US economy lost another 95,000 jobs in September, the fourth in a row that jobs have been lost, according to official figures. The fall was almost double August’s 54,000 job loss number. Government payrolls fell and private hiring was less than expected, the Labor Department said. Meanwhile private employment increased by 64,000, well below [...]
Alan Johnson to be shadow chancellor October 8, 2010 Labour leader Ed Miliband has chosen Alan Johnson as his shadow chancellor, while Ed Balls will take on the shadow home secretary role. Yvette Cooper will be shadow foreign secretary. Cooper and Balls had been tipped as front runners for the shadow chancellor role, which has been handed to Johnson, a former home secretary. Meanwhile [...]
Corporate insolvencies plummet in London October 8, 2010 London businesses are “leading the country out of recession” according to research that shows the number of corporate insolvencies by 28 per cent in the third quarter. Only 745 London firms went bust in the three months to September, down from 1034 in the second quarter of the year and a 35 per cent drop [...]
Asda closes final salary pension scheme October 8, 2010 Asda is closing its final salary pension scheme as it seeks to tackle a soaring deficit, in a move affecting around 4,000 of its staff, it said. The Walmart owned chain closed the final salary scheme to new members in 2005, said it would compensate affected employees with a cash sum equivalent to 25 per [...]
Man Utd debt triggers £83m loss October 8, 2010 Manchester United made a full-year loss of £83.6m due to managing the cost of debt. The club, third in the Premier League, posted a record operating profit of £101m due to increased broadcasting and commercial income but made a loss when interest charges and the cost of restructuring its debt were added on. Net finance [...]
Freud Communications profit soars October 8, 2010 Freud Communications bucked the recession with a 28 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £6.7m last year. Annual accounts for the PR agency, which is majority-owned by French advertising giant Publicis Groupe, show revenues rose 23 per cent to £33 million. It is understood that significant growth at teh firm run by Matthew Freud, [...]