More pain for restaurants as firms cut back on Christmas November 12, 2009 THE number of restaurants falling into insolvency is set to rise again next year after one of the quietest corporate Christmases on record. The industry’s woes over the financial crisis have been well publicised by the difficulties experienced by the UK’s celebrity chefs. Gordon Ramsay revealed earlier this year that his restaurant empire had teetered [...]
CITY VIEWS: DOES SIR PHILIP HAMPTON’S ROLE AT ANGLO AMERICAN HINDER RBS? November 12, 2009 DANIEL FOSTER WILLIS“In theory, Hampton’s acceptance of a role at Anglo American shouldn’t have any effect on his ability to serve RBS. The bank needs to hire people who can help in the crisis, so I trust he can still do that despite taking on a second role.”HARRY MCINDOE BPL GLOBAL“RBS is faced with such [...]
How to get yourself headhunted November 11, 2009 PEOPLE in the City are beginning to shift their feet. After sitting tight in their jobs throughout the downturn, workers are sniffing out new roles in increasing numbers, according to figures from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley – it said yesterday that the numbers of those looking for a new position in October were up six [...]
ING insurance tempts buyers November 11, 2009 JAN Hommen, the chief executive of Dutch bancassurer ING, said yesterday that the group’s insurance division has received strong interest from potential buyers, after it was last month forced to carve up its empire to pay the price for its taxpayer bailout at the height of the crisis. Hommen said he would have to use [...]
Johnston sees signs of ad revenue declines easing November 11, 2009 Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press said yesterday that the slide in advertising revenue hadslowed, and that it was on track to meet profit expectations for the year. The Edinburgh-based firm said that advertising revenue in the first 18 weeks of the second half had fallen 22 per cent, an improvement on the 33 per cent [...]
Another boss to step down from TNK-BP November 11, 2009 BILLIONAIRE Mikhail Fridman yesterday said that he is likely to step down as acting chief executive of BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP, which will appoint a new permanent chief. The void at the helm of TNK-BP is the result of a row over strategy and control that erupted last year between BP and the four [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 11, 2009 ALLIANZNomura upgraded Allianz to “neutral” for two reasons: first, the end of the deterioration in property and casualty underwriting as shown in the firm’s third-quarter results and, second, the broker’s reduced concern over Allianz’s exposure to litigation in its US life business. But the stock is still not one of Nomura’s top picks as it [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 11, 2009 Saxo BankThe bank has officially appointed Tom Hougaard as a market commentator for its financial spreads division. Hougaard, who also regularly hosts educational market trading seminars throughout the UK, previously worked as chief market strategist for City Index for eight years. He will be based in Saxo Bank’s London office and will provide twice-daily market [...]
Crossed wires at 3 and Orange November 11, 2009 Mobile operator 3 has written to the Advertising Standards Authority accusing rival operator Orange of misleading customers in its recent ad campaign. With network reach and strength the most important differentiator in the mobile telecoms market, Orange has launched a campaign claiming to have the UK’s largest 3G network, covering 93 per cent of the [...]
Menzies in bullish outlook November 11, 2009 Newspaper distribution and aviation services firm John Menzies said yesterday that its full year results would be well above current expectations following strong trading and cost cutting initiatives. It said analysts should raise forecasts for operating profit by about £4m, to £14m for distribution and £27m for aviation. Both Numis and Brewin Dolphin both hiked [...]