Panmure hires Seymour boss as new chief April 17, 2012 Stockbroker Panmure Gordon has poached the head of rival Seymour Pierce to be its new chief executive. Panmure will today tell the market that Philip Wale is being hired to replace Tim Linacre, who announced his resignation in December after a profit warning. Wale is expected to leave Seymour Pierce at the end of next [...]
Results relief powers jump on Wall Street April 17, 2012 US markets posted their largest gains in a month yesterday after banks led a string of quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations. Goldman Sachs, US Bancorp, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson all topped analysts’ forecast for the first three months of the year despite the still subdued US economy. The Dow Jones industrial average [...]
Goldman cuts pay and boosts its dividends April 17, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs slashed costs and boosted its dividend by over 31 per cent to 46 cents yesterday as it unveiled first-quarter results that beat expectations. Profits and revenues were down compared to the first quarter of 2011 earlier but, like its rivals, Goldman saw a significant bounceback in business compared to the end of last [...]
Spanish banks could merge to help meet capital benchmarks April 17, 2012 THE BANK of Spain yesterday warned that some of the country’s banks may face difficulties meeting tough requirements set by the government. As the central bank approved all 135 Spanish institutions’ plans to boost capital, it said the plans submitted included five merger and acquisition operations in which 11 institutions are participating. No details were [...]
Shareholders vote down Citi management’s remuneration April 17, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS in Citigroup dealt a blow to the bank’s management by voting down its executive pay proposals yesterday. Although the vote is advisory rather than binding, it is a major embarrassment to chief executive Vikram Pandit and reflects investors’ fury that his promise to deliver a rise in the firm’s dismal one cent dividend has [...]
GUARDSMEN MARK 100 DAYS TO GO UNTIL LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS April 17, 2012 GUARDSMEN wearing traditional dress have gathered at Horse Guards Parade in central London to mark 100 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The 260 Guardsmen are members of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh guards. The London Olympics will kick off on 27 July with the Opening Ceremony at [...]
Marks & Spencer sales hit by shortage of stock April 17, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER reported worse-than-expected fourth quarter sales yesterday after the retailer was hit by a shortage of stock across some of its best-selling women’s clothing lines. Chief executive Marc Bolland said the company had been caught out by February’s cold snap, when it failed to meet demand for items such as coats and knitwear. [...]
CITY VIEWS DO YOU THINK M&S WILL STILL BE AROUND IN 5O YEARS? April 17, 2012 SUE LEE PML GROUP Yes. The quality is much higher than other stores and there will always be demand for higher quality goods. It is increasingly seen to represent good value, which is obviously important at the moment. STEFAN BLOM SUP GROUP Yes, I think so. It’s a strong brand that is both well-known and [...]
Aquascutum calls administrators April 17, 2012 Aquascutum, the British luxury clothing brand has gone into administration, the latest high-profile name to fall by the wayside in the consumer downturn. FRP Advisory, the restructuring, recovery and insolvency firm, said two of its partners had been named administrators of the 161-year old loss-making firm, which employs 250 people in the UK.
Dairy Crest loses Tesco contract April 17, 2012 Dairy Crest said yesterday it has lost its contract to supply milk to Britain’s largest retailer Tesco and that it was looking at closing two facilities, which will affect about 470 staff. The manufacturer of Country Life butter, Cathedral City cheese and flavoured milk drink Frijj, said Tesco had decided not to renew its contract [...]
