Eurostar hit by strike action November 2, 2009 Eurostar services to Brussels on 5 November were cancelled yesterday, as a strike on Belgian railways means the entire rail network in the country will close. There will be no rail services operating between Lille and Brussels Midi station. There will also be no high-speed onward rail connections from Brussels to destinations in France, the [...]
Consumers plan thrifty Xmas November 2, 2009 Consumers are planning to spend less on gifts this Christmas than last year as they worry about rising unemployment and taxes, putting into question signs of a recovery in consumer spending, a survey showed yesterday. Broker Execution interviewed a representative sample of 2,000 Britons in October and found participants on average plan to spend £358 [...]
RBS to face unexpected divestments November 2, 2009 A RADICAL restructuring of part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland due to be unveiled today will include unplanned disposals, the bank admitted for the first time yesterday, amid speculation it could be forced to sell off some of its most profitable assets. The European Commission is today expected to detail divestments it expects RBS and Lloyds [...]
MPs to hear from UKFI and Walker November 2, 2009 CITY GRANDEE Sir David Walker and UK Financial Investments (UKFI) will be quizzed by the House of Commons Treasury committee today. As part of its continuing investigation into financial regulation, the committee will take evidence from Walker on the recommendations he put forward in his Walker Review of banks and financial institutions earlier this year. [...]
Deutsche and Santander bosses warn against carving up banks November 2, 2009 CUTTING big international banks down to size would not solve problems raised by the financial crisis and would create a sector unable to offer services required to support corporate clients, a top banker said yesterday. “Size is not an end in itself and it is not necessarily evil either,” Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann [...]
Turner warns break-ups to hit stability November 2, 2009 THE forced break up of the “too big to fail” banks into retail and casino institutions would actually increase instability in the financial sector and worsen the economic impact of future banking crises, the City watchdog warned yesterday. Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), said proposals to separate traditional banking operations [...]
Yell gets the go ahead for fundraising November 2, 2009 YELLOW Pages publisher?Yell was yesterday given the green light by creditors over plans to refinance its massive £3.8bn debt mountain. The deal enables Yell to press ahead with a rights issue worth at least £500m. The company’s shares have been extremely volatile in recent weeks, after the firm was forced to extend its deadline three [...]
Commerz hit by Dresdner merger costs November 2, 2009 COSTS associated with absorbing rival Dresdner Bank pushed losses at Germany’s Commerzbank to €1.05bn (£947m) in the third quarter. Germany’s second biggest bank reported a €900m charge in relation to the acquisition of Dresdner and €650m in writedowns associated with its Eurohypo real estate unit. Eurohypo is being slimmed down by Commerzbank ahead of a [...]
Study says customers want personal touch from their high street banks November 2, 2009 MORE than a fifth of banking customers have moved banks over the past two years due to dissatisfaction with the way they were treated, showing the importance of customer service in turbulent times. According to a YouGov study for the Deloitte, the amount and accessibility of branches, along with face-to-face interaction, remains a key consideration [...]
PERNOD’S PRINGUET PUSHES AHEAD November 2, 2009 PERNOD Ricard, the world’s second biggest drinks maker, yesterday said its first quarter sales fell 6.3 per cent to €1.65bn, (£1.49bn). But Pernod chief executive Pierre Pringuet (pictured) said he would use the first signs of recovery to target profit growth for the full year. He added he would consider selling assets for an attractive [...]
