Warning over graduate job adverts after new legal ruling April 25, 2012 THE FREEDOM of companies to advertise graduate level jobs has been cast into doubt by a Supreme Court ruling over age discrimination towards an ex-policeman. Judges said Terence Homer, a former detective inspector who worked at the Police National legal Database, had faced indirect discrimination following the introduction of a new system of three salary [...]
DIAMOND’S PAY SLAMMED BY IOD April 25, 2012 HEAD of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Simon Walker yesterday criticised the size of Barclay’s chief executive Bob Diamond’s remuneration package. “I think Barclays, overall, is out of order and that includes Bob Diamond. Barclays pays three times more in bonuses to top executives than it does in total dividends to all its shareholders,” he [...]
Cameron calls on Ken to issue full tax return April 25, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday called on Ken Livingstone to publish the full details of his tax arrangements, saying Labour’s candidate “owes this country transparency about his taxes and about his company”. He also joked about Labour in-fighting over their candidate, adding: “I don’t much agree with what Lord Sugar has to say, but when he said Londoners [...]
Boris pledges to create at least 1,000 apprenticeships a week April 25, 2012 MAYOR Boris Johnson yesterday promised to generate 1,000 apprenticeships every week over the course of the next mayoral term if he is elected on 3 May – double his existing commitment. “We’re going to create 200,000 jobs and it is absolutely vital that young people in London should have the skills, motivation and attitude to get [...]
Peugeot sees tough times ahead April 25, 2012 ■ PSA Peugeot Citroen, France’s biggest carmaker, forecast a tough second quarter yesterday, saying demand continued to sag in its domestic and core southern European markets, sending first-quarter sales down seven per cent. Revenue fell to €14.3bn (£11.7bn), compared with a forecast for €13.9bn. Sales in its automotive division fell 14 per cent to €9.72bn.
Product bug hits TomTom profit April 25, 2012 ■ Dutch vehicle navigation maker TomTom yesterday swung to a first-quarter loss, citing weaker car sales, the debt crisis in Southern Europe, and a product bug which made it necessary to increase the number of customer service agents. The group said it took a €13m provision in the quarter to fix the issue, reducing its [...]
Diageo completes China deal April 25, 2012 ■ Diageo yesterday completed its tender offer for Chinese liquor maker Sichuan Shuijingfang, which it was compelled to undertake, with negligible uptake and so stays as the largest shareholder in China’s No 4 white spirits group. Diageo bought a four per cent stake in joint venture Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing last July to bring its stake [...]
US corporate results round-up April 25, 2012 Boeing’s profit beats expectations BOEING posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday, helped by an increase in commercial airplane deliveries, and the world’s largest aerospace and defence company raised its earnings forecast for the year. Boeing’s first-quarter net profit rose to $923m from $586m a year earlier. Earnings were $1.11 per share, beating the average estimate [...]
Draghi tells Eurozone leaders to focus on pro-growth reform April 25, 2012 THE EUROZONE’S governments need a “growth compact” to boost their economies, European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi said yesterday, as the bank revealed its €1 trillion (£818bn) cash injection has not helped lending as much as first thought. There are growing expectations in financial markets that the ECB will have to ride to the [...]
EU demands above inflation budget rise April 25, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) yesterday called for a 6.8 per cent increase in the EU’s budget – a demand the UK vowed to fight. Commissioners have been pushing member states to cut their own budgets, arguing sustained fiscal discipline is necessary to overcome the debt crisis. However, it wants member states to give it €136bn [...]
