Finance regulator gains powers March 27, 2012 ■ The government is speeding up plans to streamline the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), giving the cumbersome auditing and corporate governance watchdog a bigger stick to rein in rule-breakers and help shape European Union laws. The FRC covers a range of supervisory activities from punishing auditors for rule breaches and checking up on accountants and [...]
QinetiQ reaches pension deal March 27, 2012 ■ Defence technology company QinetiQ said yesterday it has reached an agreement with the trustees of its pension scheme to reduce its pension deficit and improve the security of the scheme. QinetiQ, which makes high-tech military equipment such as bomb disposal robots and sniper detectors, yesterday said it had made immediate one-off payment of £40m [...]
Tim Cook visits China to discuss Apple growth March 27, 2012 APPLE chief executive Tim Cook has met with government officials in Beijing after a turbulent few months for the iPad maker’s Chinese operations. The Cupertino-based company declined to elaborate on details of the visit, which is Cook’s first trip to China since becoming chief executive, but hinted it was looking at expansion in the country. [...]
Londoners not convinced by Heathrow plan March 27, 2012 CLOSE-TO-CAPACITY Heathrow is getting ready for its busiest week of the year so far, with more than 1.6m passengers expected to fly in and out of the airport during Easter week. This Friday will see the biggest number of holidaymakers pass through Heathrow, with 220,000 people arriving or departing as the schools break up for [...]
STRAUSS-KAHN TO CHALLENGE ALLEGATIONS March 27, 2012 LAWYERS for former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn said yesterday he was being hounded for his “libertine ways” and that they would challenge a judicial inquiry where he is suspected of participating in pimping in France. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers hit back after an announcement that he had been formally put under investigation in a prostitution scandal in [...]
888 plots new expansion as revenue jumps March 27, 2012 ONLINE gambling company 888 yesterday said it would expand further into Europe as it unveiled annual revenues that jumped by a quarter. The group, which counts the UK as its largest market, said it would focus on growing in newly-regulated countries such as Spain and Denmark, after beginning operations in Italy last August. 888 posted [...]
Sportingbet settles up with US justice dept March 27, 2012 SPORTINGBET drew a line under its dealings with the US justice system department as it made its final payment of $6m (£3.76m). The online gambling company was accused of crimes relating to operating a gambling business in the US between 1998 and 2006. But the group escaped prosecution by offering a settlement of $33m. Chief [...]
LUXURY CAR DEALER SEES SALES SURGE March 27, 2012 HR Owen, the British car dealer that specialises in luxury marques such as Ferraris, yesterday said its revenue jumped by 25 per cent to £192.4m last year thanks to strong demand for new vehicles. However, its pre-tax profits fell to £1.6m compared to £1.8m a year ago. The company, which also specialises in Aston Martins, [...]
Canaccord’s on the move east March 27, 2012 THE office changes continue in the City’s small broking sector, with those who have made it into the new Canaccord Genuity Collins Stewart venture moving this week from Canaccord’s Victoria offices to join their new colleagues in the Collins Stewart’s Wood Street offices. There will be around 100 people making the journey across town from [...]
BREAKING NEWS: MEE TO RUN BLINDFOLDED March 27, 2012 Sky Sports presenter Sarah-Jane Mee is one of a handful of celebrities who have agreed to run the Standard Chartered Great City 5km Race blindfold on July 12 in aid of Seeing is Believing, a charity that has helped 25m people with sight problems. £5 of every runner’s entry fee will go towards the charity [...]
