Report: Iran denies Greece oil February 26, 2012 Iran has refused to give Greece a shipment of 500,000 barrels of crude oil in a retaliatory measure against European Union sanctions on the Islamic state’s lifeblood, oil, the semi-official Fars news agency reported yesterday. “Oil tankers that had come to transfer 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil to a refinery in Greece had to go [...]
OPERATIC DUET FOR MITIE BOSS AND HUBBY February 26, 2012 WHAT connects Mitie, the FTSE 250 support services company, with opera? It isn’t just that Mitie is responsible for managing the facilities at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The £19m contract, which sees Mitie providing cleaning and security services to the 2,256-seater venue, is certainly important to chief executive Ruby McGregor-Smith – but [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 26, 2012 Pace Pace has appointed Roddy Murray as its new chief financial officer as part of chairman Allan Leighton’s overhaul of the ailing set TV top-box maker. The firm, which issued a string of profit warnings last year, said Murray will take over from Stuart Hall on 6 March, who is leaving after five years in [...]
House prices flat as Britons stuck renting February 26, 2012 HALF of Britons do not expect to buy a house until they are in their forties, a survey showed today, while the housing market stayed flat again through February. Average rents rose to £890 per month at the end of 2011, but 61 per cent of renters cannot afford to buy, according to a survey [...]
Businesses warn government not to scare off talented international workers February 26, 2012 GOVERNMENT plans to introduce a wage-based limit on migrants settling in the UK risks damaging Britain’s attractiveness to important workers, business groups have warned. The Home Office wants new rules, which will only allow non-EU immigrants earning over £35,000 to settle here, and limit the time foreign household staff can stay in the UK. However, [...]
IT industry sees signs of growth as hiring intentions hit new high February 26, 2012 PROSPECTS for pay in the IT industry are their brightest since the pre-recession years, according to a survey out today, indicating the worst may be over for the industry. The ReThink IT survey found 59 per cent of directors in the industry expect salaries for staff to rise in the year ahead, up from 47 [...]
Red tape and defaults hit bank lending February 26, 2012 STIFLING regulations and a rising number of defaults are forcing banks to cut down on lending, a new report from Ernst & Young warns this morning. Banks are being “forced on a diet”, according to the firm’s Marcel Van Loo, who said: “on the one hand they are being asked to hold more capital but [...]
Availability of new loans to factories shows modest signs of improvement February 26, 2012 THE AVAILABILITY of credit to British manufacturers has picked up modestly at the start of this year, according to industry group EEF. A balance of three per cent of factories reported that the availability of new lines of borrowing has improved in 2012, the group said today. Yet the EEF maintains that lending still needs [...]
Cost of living raises debt burden for households February 26, 2012 THE RISING cost of everyday living has tightened the “debt noose” around the necks of millions of Britons, a debt counselling charity will announce today. Nearly a quarter of households’ disposable income (23.8 per cent) goes towards interest payments on loans, on average, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) found at the end of last [...]
Figures to shed light on outlook for UK’s stores February 26, 2012 RETAILERS will be looking for signs of green shoots this week, with the release of two important gauges for the UK high street. The CBI’s distributive trades survey will shed light tomorrow on the current fortunes for British shops. And a separate survey on Wednesday, from GfK NOP, will reveal if consumer confidence is continuing [...]
