Ex-West Brom boss nets 520k July 15, 2009 THE ousted chief executive of West Bromwich Building Society, Stephen Karle, trousered a £520,600 pay-off last year, including an £82,000 bonus, despite presiding over risky lending that almost led to its collapse. Karle’s total pay package for the seven months until his sudden departure in October was £686,600 and he is also entitled to a [...]
Deflation hits Eurozone bloc July 15, 2009 THE Eurozone annual rate of inflation was negative in June for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999, official data showed yesterday. Eurostat said that annual inflation was -0.1 per cent last month, down from 0.0 per cent in May. Monthly inflation was 0.2 per cent. The fastest drop in prices [...]
PwC called in as Intimas fails July 15, 2009 INTIMAS, the lingerie firm that produces brands including Ted Baker Intimates, has called in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its administrator following prolonged trading woes. Chairman John Gibson, the 56-year old former Real Good Food Group boss, has called in PwC after the firm failed to secure new investment to save it from collapse. PwC joint administrator [...]
BT relief as an investor rebellion on exec pay fails to materialise July 15, 2009 BT has ridden out investor unrest over executive pay, after a majority of shareholders voted for its proposals at yesterday’s annual meeting. The Association of British Insurers had issued an amber top warning and investor body Pirc had urged BT shareholders to abstain from voting on the telecoms giant’s pay plans, in protest at a [...]
CIT’s shares halted on NYSE as regulators close in on rescue deal July 15, 2009 TROUBLED US lender CIT Group had its trading halted on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, suggesting regulators were nearing a rescue deal. A source close to the situation said a temporary loan may be announced in the next 24 hours. The source added a temporary loan is one option being considered to give CIT [...]
EUROSTAR NUMBERS DERAILED July 15, 2009 EUROSTAR, the cross-channel train service, said yesterday its passenger numbers for the first half of the year tumbled six per cent to 4.34m from the same period a year ago, as business passengers shunned the service. The business now says it is unlikely to reach its target of carrying 10m passengers in a year by [...]
Property will bounce back, says LandSecs July 15, 2009 LAND SECURITIES, the UK’s largest property developer, yesterday signalled that the worst of the property slump was over and said it was gearing up for recovery. After months in the investment wilderness, the firm said it was preparing to join a growing legion of opportunistic buyers keen to exploit a sharp 45 per cent fall in [...]
Car sales in Europe chart healthy rise July 15, 2009 NEW car sales in Europe rose in June for the first time in 14 months, driven higher by scrappage schemes in over 10 member states, in a sign that the battered industry may be motoring towards recovery. Car sales rose 2.4 per cent last month from a year ago, to 1.5m units throughout Europe, where [...]
Ghana gives Tullow approval July 15, 2009 EXPLORER Tullow Oil said yesterday it had gained approval from the Ghanaian energy minister to start work on the Jubilee field Phase 1 Development Plan. The Jubilee field will be developed using a rig, the company said, and will deliver a plateau oil rate of 120,000 barrels of oil per day. The Unitisation Agreement has [...]
Central bank downgrades Japan’s economic forecast July 15, 2009 JAPAN has prolonged emergency measures designed to ease the flow of credit to companies, as the country’s central bank downgraded its economic outlook. The Bank of Japan revised its April forecast of a 3.1 per cent contraction in 2009 to a record 3.4 per cent decline and extended emergency procedures to buy corporate debt from [...]