Patent costs to plummet after Vince Cable signs deal with EU February 17, 2013 THE COST of registering patents in the EU is set to fall from €36,000 (£31,000) to €5,000, following reforms due to be agreed by business secretary Vince Cable this week. At the moment inventors and businesses have to register their innovations separately with all EU member states. The new agreement, which will be signed tomorrow, [...]
Households expect even worse squeeze on finances is coming February 17, 2013 HOUSEHOLD budgets dipped once more in February, and look set to get even worse in coming months. Markit’s headline household finance index was stuck at 37.7 in February, the same level as January and deep below the 50 threshold that indicates no change in households’ situations. And the economics consultancy’s outlook index, which focuses on [...]
Ministers pour cold water on RBS share giveaway proposals February 17, 2013 CONSERVATIVE ministers yesterday dismissed claims that they are ready to privatise RBS by handing shares to the public before 2015, despite Lib Dem backing for the plan. Reports over the weekend suggested the coalition was willing to sell off the bank’s shares to the public at a discount or even give them away ahead of [...]
Cinven gears up for £1bn float of annuity outfit February 17, 2013 CINVEN, the private equity business, is firming up plans for a £1bn float of its annuity business Partnership amid a renaissance in London’s capital markets. The mid-market buyout shop, which also owns PizzaExpress and ASK Italian restaurants, is understood to be pushing for an initial public offering (IPO) of Partnership in the second half of [...]
London house prices up 1.2pc over February February 17, 2013 A SMALLER than usual February bump failed to put a dent in the rapid pace of London house price growth, according to data out yesterday. London’s asking prices grew at 1.2 per cent in the second month of 2013, Rightmove said this morning, the slowest growth seen since 2009 in the usually strong month. But [...]
Thomas Cook to set out strategy February 17, 2013 TRAVEL group Thomas Cook will this week unveil its latest plans to turn around its fortunes, following an in-depth review of the business led by new chief executive Harriet Green. Green, who was appointed in July 2012, was tasked with shaking up the company after a string of profit warnings. Reports at the weekend said [...]
Our sprawling permanent state is a disaster for the UK’s public services February 17, 2013 OF ALL the pejorative terms applied to the banking industry, “vampire squid” is my favourite. It’s uniquely expressive, describing a malign organism that extends its tentacles into all the crevices of its host, while draining it of resources. Expressive though it is, applying the term to the banks is mistaken. Britain’s real “vampire squid” is [...]
US authorities probe trades in Heinz shares February 17, 2013 US securities regulators have filed a lawsuit against unknown traders in the options of ketchup maker HJ Heinz. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that traders acted on inside information before Heinz announced a deal to be acquired for $23bn (£14.8bn) by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil’s 3G Capital. The suit marks the [...]
Natixis to simplify its structure and pay out a special dividend February 17, 2013 FRENCH bank Natixis said yesterday it would simplify its finances by shed- ding a 20 per cent stake in BPCE, a network of cooperative lenders which controls it, paving the way for higher dividends in the future. Natixis said it would sell €12bn (£10bn) in investment certificates through which it owned a fifth of parent [...]
EasyJet shrugs off pilot claims ahead of AGM February 17, 2013 EASYJET yesterday insisted that it pays its pilots properly, after the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) claimed that “penny pinching management” were short-changing staff. In an open letter to EasyJet chairman Sir Mike Rake ahead of this Thursday’s shareholder meeting, Balpa claimed that the firm’s plan to hire 330 new permanent pilots is a [...]
