Co-op addresses governance issues in FSA talks over Lloyds branches March 4, 2012 THE Co-op yesterday said that its talks with Lloyds Bank over the purchase of 630 branches were going according to plan, though sources said it might strengthen its board in order to satisfy regulators. The mutual, which is in exclusive talks with Lloyds, said last night: “As part of a thorough due diligence process we [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 4, 2012 RSA Citi rates the insurance group “neutral” and has trimmed its target price by 2p to 113p following the firm’s results last Thursday. The broker remains cautious about the firm, despite some positive action from management, thanks to a continued fall in reserve releases and low interest rates dampening investment yields. XCHANGING JP Morgan rates [...]
Online boosts February’s sales March 4, 2012 Traditionally the toughest month of the retail calendar, February shone brighter than expected this year boosted by a 27.9 per cent increase in online sales. The BDO High Street Sales Tracker, which analyses like-for-like spending at non-grocery retailers, also saw non-fashion sales grow by two per cent thanks to Valentines Day shoppers. But overall sales [...]
Entrepreneur loans for students March 4, 2012 The government is set to boost the next generation of entrepreneurs by offering Dragons’ Den-style loans to school-leavers. George Osborne is expected to include the plan in the Budget later this month. Under the scheme the money would be allocated by experienced entrepreneurs to people with a coherent business plan. They would only begin to [...]
FSA fines weak risk management March 4, 2012 Weak risk management systems were responsible for more than half of the fines handed out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2011. Analysis by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors shows that 60 per cent of last year’s fines – a total of £38.5m – related to poor internal control systems, up from 55 [...]
SONY MUSIC SIGNS UP MOSHI MONSTERS March 4, 2012 SONY Music has signed a record deal with Mind Candy, the company behind child online gaming sensation Moshi Monsters – played by 60m children. Its first album, the 12-track Moshi Monsters, Music Rox, will feature the brand’s most popular characters and will be released from 2 April. Sony will oversee production, distribution and sales.
Brakes on for GM Chevy Volt March 4, 2012 GENERAL Motors has announced it will temporarily shut down production of the Chevy Volt, its innovative electric car. GM will also temporarily lay off 1,300 employees who work on the Volt’s production line between 19 March and 23 April, Detroit Free Press reported. The company cited the need to “align our production with demand” for [...]
Olympic Media Buzz LONDON 2012 PARTNERS March 4, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, the media monitoring and analytics platform, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the partners for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 22 February to Wednesday 29 February. This [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 4, 2012 Grosvenor Group Michael McLintock has been appointed as a non-executive director of the privately-owned international property group, effective immediately. Chief executive of M&G since 1997, five years after joining the investment firm, McLintock oversaw the sale of M&G to Prudential in 1999 and joined the latter’s board the following year. Already a trustee of the [...]
Qataris fund rollout of 75 City info pods March 4, 2012 THE QATARI Islamic Bank’s British branch, QIB UK, has partnered with on-the-go media firm Renew to fund the rollout of a new round of information pods in the City of London. Since first hitting the streets on 26 January, Renew’s 4.5-feet high pods double as recycling bins and information screens, updating City workers on the [...]
