OLYMPIC MEDIA BUZZ LONDON 2012 PARTNERS April 15, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partners, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 4 March to Wednesday 11 April. McDonald’s has leapt up the rankings this week, with [...]
Government rethinks wind power stance April 15, 2012 CLIMATE change minister Greg Barker has moved to placate Tory backbenchers by insisting the country will not be “carpeted in wind farms”. The renewables industry, however, insists that it still has the full backing of the government. Barker said he was happy to “reassure colleagues” that Britain does not need any more onshore wind farms [...]
US Treasury expects profit from bailouts April 15, 2012 THE US Treasury Department has said that the many programs that it, the Federal Reserve and banking authorities implemented during the darkest hours of the 2007-2009 financial crisis will likely end up making a profit for taxpayers. At a background presentation for reporters, a senior Treasury official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the [...]
Deadline looms in two-horse race for CWW April 15, 2012 POTENTIAL bidders for Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) will have to show their hand this week in the latest chapter of the saga over the £1bn-rated telecoms firm. Tata Communications and Vodafone have until Thursday to either announce a firm intention to make a bid for CWW or walk away after the Takeover Panel granted [...]
Lloyds gets rid of its final stake in Sir Stelios’s EasyCar business April 15, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group has sold off its stake in Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s EasyCar business for an undisclosed sum, it has emerged. The bank disposed of the last of its holding at the end of last year as part of its exit strategy for investments made by Bank of Scotland, which was taken over by Lloyds [...]
Clarke set to take step on OceanBridge April 15, 2012 PRIVATE equity veteran and former Permira partner Martin Clarke could be about to join an advisory boutique set up by a former colleague. Clarke, the ex-head of Permira’s consumer team, is believed to have held talks with Philippe Robert about joining OceanBridge Partners. Clarke is currently a non-executive director at New Look, the retailer controlled [...]
Economists say firms’ savings hold back GDP April 15, 2012 BRITAIN’S companies are failing to take their responsibilities to the rest of society seriously and must start spending instead of saving if they want to see the economy growing, according to a damning report out today from Ernst and Young’s Item Club. The extraordinary attack on firms’ savings saw companies accused of “adding to the [...]
Business confidence points to slow recovery as oil prices rise April 15, 2012 RISING output forecasts from firms point to an increase in GDP in this quarter, according to an influential survey published today. The BDO output index, which points to business conditions one quarter ahead, rose above the 95 mark which indicates growth for the first time since the summer of 2011 – but longer-term prospects have [...]
Poor scrutiny risks hurting pension pots April 15, 2012 MILLIONS of workers risk putting their money in poorly governed pension pots, with little oversight and unsustainable returns, according to research out today. While trust-based pension schemes have trustees to hold fund managers to account, FairPensions claims insurance firms’ contract-based pensions “often fail to perform this role.” FairPensions studied the 10 largest contract-based pension providers [...]
London’s property prices keep rising on sustained low supply April 15, 2012 London’s house prices hit a record high in April while rents are set to keep soaring through 2012, two reports show today. The average asking price of a property in the capital rose to £464,944, up 2.1 per cent on the month and 7.9 per cent on the £431,013 seen last April, according to Rightmove’s [...]
