NAMA needs more property sales March 14, 2012 Ireland’s state-run National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) needs an additional €4bn (£3.3bn) of property sales by the end of 2013 to meet a target under the country’s EU-IMF bailout, said the agency’s chief executive yesterday. NAMA, one of the world’s largest property groups, has already approved sales of over €7bn out of its €74bn portfolio [...]
Coalition makes £200m IT savings March 14, 2012 The government has managed to cut £200m in costs from its IT outsourcing work by renegotiating its deal with Gapgemini, cabinet secretary Francis Maude said yesterday. He said the savings in the contract for work to 2017 showed how the government is “operat[ing] more like a good business”. A further £180m is expected to be [...]
L&G leads FTSE 100 after dividend rise March 14, 2012 LEGAL & General (L&G) posted the biggest rise on the FTSE 100 after the insurer said it would increase its 2011 dividend by more than a third to 6.4p. The board justified the bumper payout – which reverses a cut made during the 2008 financial crisis – on the basis that the company enjoyed “the combination of [...]
Alpha Bank ditches plan to merge with Greece’s Eurobank March 14, 2012 ALPHA Bank yesterday scrapped plans to tie up with rival Eurobank, in what would have been Greece’s largest bank merger in decades but instead became a casualty of the country’s bond restructuring. Alpha Bank had said in January it would put the merger, agreed in August, on hold until the terms of debt-crippled Greece’s bond [...]
Lifeline thrown at Game Group: OpCapita offers to buy its debt March 14, 2012 RESCUE could be on its way for Game Group as private investment firm OpCapita has offered to buy the struggling video games vendor’s debt. A source close to the proceedings told City A.M. that OpCapita has approached Game’s lenders – a group led by RBS – with an offer to buy the retailer’s debt and pay off [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN LEGAL & GENERAL MAINTAIN ITS GROWTH? March 14, 2012 MARCUS BARNARD ORIEL The outlook statement is upbeat seeing further opportunities to grow in the core UK despite the considerable changes and challenges that lie ahead. New business strain was helped by better terms in the annuity market meaning net cash generation was £846m, up 11 per cent and four per cent ahead of expectations [...]
Cable’s plan for pay votes splits the City March 14, 2012 VINCE Cable’s plans to crack down on executive pay split opinion yesterday, with shareholder groups welcoming the proposals as business leaders warned that the plans risk “micro-managing”. The business secretary yesterday laid out plans to force firms to hold binding votes on its future remuneration and for “golden parachute” payments worth more than one year’s [...]
Worldspreads takes back old boss as chief exec Foley quits March 14, 2012 WORLDSPREADS lost its chief executive yesterday as Conor Foley (pictured) quit his role at the spread betting house. Worldspreads’ ex-boss Roger Hynes, who moved from the financial services group to CMC Markets, will resume his former seat on an interim basis. The shift comes just two weeks after Worldspreads released a profit warning due to “an [...]
AT A GLANCE: CABLE’S EXEC PAY PLANS March 14, 2012 ● CABLE’S PLANS FOR EXEC PAY Business secretary Vince Cable’s consultation on executive pay published yesterday set out plans that he hopes will give shareholders more influence over executive pay. ● BINDING YEARLY PAY VOTES Cable wants an annual binding vote on every listed company’s future remuneration policy. Because of the “fragmented nature” of shareholders [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT UK UNEMPLOYMENT?* March 14, 2012 JOHNATHAN EVANS | SAMMONS ASSOCIATES “Yes, I am worried about the unemployment rate. At the end of the day, the high unemployment rate is not good for anybody.” ROBIN CULLIGAN | PRICE FORBES AND PARTNERS “I’m most concerned about youth unemployment to be honest. I have siblings graduating university soon and I’m worried about them [...]
