The Debate: Would an EU cap on bankers’ pay damage London’s ability to attract the best talent? February 18, 2013 YES Eamonn Butler The latest EU proposals to fix bonus rates will strangle the life out of the City of London. Perhaps that is part of the intention: other EU financial centres envy London’s superiority. Pay policy is a key part of attracting and retaining the top-rate staff that City firms need to run their [...]
Greencore rises on proof of no contamination February 18, 2013 IRISH food group Greencore’s shares bounced back by eight per cent yesterday after it said that tests had found no other traces of horsemeat in its products or at its convenience food sites. Shares in the company sunk more than 12 per cent at the end of last week when Asda withdrew its own- brand [...]
Investors start to regain faith in the Eurozone February 18, 2013 INVESTORS at last believe the European economy is on the right track, with investment beginning to flow back into the stricken continent, surveys and data showed yesterday. For the first time since 2010, a Fitch survey showed more investors are optimistic than pessimistic, as respondents “were swept up on a wave of new year enthusiasm.” [...]
MPs demand tax avoiders are named and shamed by HMRC February 18, 2013 INDIVIDUALS who take part in tax avoidance schemes should have their names made public by HM Revenue & Customs, according to the chair of an influential parliamentary select committee. Labour’s Margaret Hodge MP says the taxman “should name and shame those who sell or use tax avoidance schemes”, directing public anger at those who attempt [...]
Draghi warns currency war may hurt European growth this year February 18, 2013 THE STRENGTH of the euro risks harming economic growth and pulling down inflation too far, European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi told European parliamentarians yesterday. The bank president hit out at talk of a currency war between states vying to push down their exchange rates and improve their economies’ competitiveness, insisting the policies affecting currencies [...]
Letters to the Editor February 18, 2013 The capital's roads [Re: Congestion charge after ten years: it’s time to be bolder, yesterday] Baroness Valentine is right that the congestion charge scheme could be bigger, bolder and more sophisticated. But this is unlikely to be acceptable to motorists, or to deliver sustainable improvements to the quality of roads in London, given our existing [...]
Landlord profits under threat from online growth, Axa warns February 18, 2013 ONLINE retail sales are endangering the profits of bricks and mortar stores and threatening to put commercial landlords out of business, a new report claims. The boom in web business means investors should tread carefully before investing in physical retail sales – because there is unlikely to be a return to the heyday of store [...]
Costain snags Bond St deal with Skanska February 18, 2013 A JOINT venture between engineers Costain and Skanska has bagged a construction contract worth £110m to help Bond Street station cope with the 70,000 extra passengers a day it is expected to see once the Crossrail line is completed. The project will include building two new ticket halls at the popular West End shopping hub, [...]
Shop vacancy figures expose UK retail woes February 18, 2013 BRITAIN’S battered retail sector gained no respite this week as the latest research showed vacancy rates remained stubbornly above 14 per cent last year as retailers continue to shut up shop across the country. The Local Data Company’s (LDC) latest report published today shows vacancy levels fell slightly from 14.3 per cent to 14.2 per [...]
Reader’s Digest publisher files for bankruptcy over debt pile February 18, 2013 THE PUBLISHER of Reader’s Digest US magazine has filed for bankruptcy in America in an effort to cut its $465m (£300m) debt pile. RDA Holdings, the parent company of the 91 year-old general interest magazine, applied for the measure on Sunday night in New York, the second time the company has done so in four [...]
