Mystery pest bugs Tube staff April 15, 2012 NORTHERN LINE: be on the look out for mysterious bugs mounting “sustained attacks” on Tube drivers. The RMT has complained in its latest newsletter of “as yet unidentified insects” plaguing Northern Line drivers based mainly at Morden. Fumigation has done nothing to soothe the drivers’ itches, thunders the union, and a total of 12 incident [...]
Debate sparked by 140-letter Sentance April 15, 2012 HOLDING down the currency artificially is standard fare for politicians who want to give their country’s industries a competitive boost – China’s opponents in the US have long accused it of manipulating its currency to support economic growth, while the Fed has been accused of doing the same by printing money. Closer to home, the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 15, 2012 Irwin Mitchell The UK solicitor firm has appointed Denny Payton as partner in its motor team. Payton has been a solicitor for over nineteen years and has extensive experience working for major insurers, corporate fleets and brokers. Her focus is on delivering outsourcing services to international clients. DLA Piper Prakash Paran has joined the law [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 15, 2012 BURBERRY UBS rates the fashion brand “neutral” with a target price of £15.80. The broker expects constant currency sales growth of 16.5 per cent for the quarter when the firm reports tomorrow, down from 23.7 per cent in the rest of the financial year thanks to tougher comparatives. DEBENHAMS Deutsche Bank has a “hold” rating [...]
News from retailers and job figures will make the week ahead April 15, 2012 WHILE the first couple of days indicate a quiet start for the UK market, activity is likely to increase by the middle of the week. All eyes will be on consumer price index data tomorrow for any signs of inflation moving one way or another. Tesco reports full year numbers on Wednesday. The supermarket lost [...]
KPMG chairman: Four big ways we could really improve audit quality April 15, 2012 WHEN the European Union launched its plans to reform the audit market across 27 countries, the proposals referenced the word “quality” no less than 113 times. Robust audits were held to be the key to re-establishing trust and market confidence following the 2008 financial crisis. It seemed a laudable objective to ensure that auditors (alongside [...]
Should sanctions be lifted before Burma reforms? April 15, 2012 YES Derek Tonkin SANCTIONS are a potentially valuable tool but, unless they can be carefully targeted, their effects can be counterproductive. Burma is a case in point. The effectiveness of sanctions has been minimal because no country in the region agreed to support the West. Burma’s immediate neighbours, notably China and Thailand, have captured the [...]
Join the City Stress Test this May and get your Olympic plans in shape April 15, 2012 THIS Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon will signal the push off the starting block for many of us in the City in the sprint towards the 2012 Olympics. With little over one hundred days to go until the Games begin, many in the City will already find themselves wondering how their businesses are going to cope [...]
RAPID responses April 15, 2012 Unbreakable bonds [Re: We need an open contest to decide who will run the Bank, Thursday] Allister Heath argues that the £300bn plus held by the Bank of England in government bonds should be cancelled to reduce the government’s debt and interest bill. Cancelling the bonds would undermine the credibility and independence of the Bank [...]
London’s property: As unsafe as houses April 15, 2012 INSANITY, Albert Einstein famously said, is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The crash might have petrified property investors at the bottom and middle of the market, but in London’s swankier postcodes prices are back on the up. The question is whether these represent sound long-term investments or another [...]
