ECONOMIST VIEWS: IS IT TOO SOON TO SAY THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY? June 28, 2009 HOWARD ARCHER GLOBAL INSIGHTI would expect there to be a gradual improvement, but the whole sector is still very vulnerable to set backs. I am not convinced that reform is going to happen to the extent that the Bank of England would like, and I think it will be a long time before we are [...]
How London City Airport’s veteran boss is keeping his sights set high June 28, 2009 Whenever you meet Richard Gooding, London City Airport’s relaxed-looking chief executive, you can’t help feeling he has seen it all before – and after clocking up 42 years in the airline business, he probably has. Aged just 18, Gooding left rural Suffolk to work as an apprentice for British European Airways – which later became [...]
Cycles that mean business June 28, 2009 FIRST there was the Tube strike, and now a heatwave. Travelling on London’s un-airconditioned, heat-trap of an underground system has never been less appealing. So this is a perfect moment to take to two wheels. Since keen cyclist Boris Johnson became mayor there have been rumblings about making cycling in London more attractive and less [...]
JETTING OFF June 25, 2009 JET REPUBLIC, the private jet company run by Jonathan Breeze, is slashing its Learjet prices by $1m (£600,000), it said yesterday, as part of a part-ownership buy-back programme. The scheme, which is trying to win interest from cash-strapped clients, allows members to fly up to 200 hours per year without paying hourly fees.”
M&A fees up for first time in 12 months June 25, 2009 THE global banking industry will be able to breathe a sigh of relief today after new data showed that investment banking fees rose in the second quarter of this year for the first time in 12 months. According to preliminary data from Thomson Reuters, investment banks have raked in $16bn (£9.8bn) so far this quarter, [...]
Nationwide is most trusted June 25, 2009 NATIONWIDE, the UK’s largest building society, is also its most trusted financial brand, according to Moneywise magazine. The publication’s inaugural Customer Service Awards also saw Swiftcover take the gong for most trusted motor insurer, while Liverpool Victoria was deemed the most reliable home insurer and Legal & General scooped the award for income protection providers. [...]
Premier Foods FD stands down June 25, 2009 Premier Foods, Britain’s biggest food manufacturer, said yesterday its finance director Paul Thomas would leave the company later this year to seek new challenges and that it had started the search for his successor. The group, whose brands include Mr Kipling cakes, Bisto gravy, Hovis bread and Branston pickle, said Thomas would step down shortly [...]
China accuses Google of smut June 25, 2009 The Chinese government yesterday stepped up claims that Google is spreading obscene content over the internet, hours after users in China were unable to access several Google sites. The disruptions came a day after the US urged Beijing to scrap controversial plans for filtering software on computers, but China said its actions were “lawful”.
Orange to axe 370 positions June 25, 2009 France Telecom-owned mobile firm Orange is reducing its headcount by 370, it said yesterday. A spokesman for the firm said 190 jobs from across the business would go immediately, with a further 180 under review, although it believes that at least 90 of these will be achieved through natural wastage.
SWINE FLU SCARE TAKES HOLD AT HEART OF THE FINANCIAL WORLD June 25, 2009 MORE anxiety down at City accountancy firm Ernst & Young, where the dreaded swine flu has taken down a senior accountant and thrown concerned workers into panic. The Capitalist revealed yesterday that one individual from the firm’s More London Place office has been diagnosed with swine flu, while his team and clients are awaiting results [...]