Tesco’s market share takes a fresh tumble February 15, 2012 TESCO endured a double blow yesterday, as it suffered a fresh drop in UK market share in the latest Nielsen figures, and set a leaving date for its long-standing director Andrew Higginson. The supermarket giant’s share of the UK grocery market fell 0.5 percentage points on a year ago in the three months to 4 [...]
BNP Paribas loses €870m on Greek debt hit February 15, 2012 BNP PARIBAS disappointed analysts with its fourth quarter results yesterday as it revealed that it booked an €872m (£725.7m) hit from the Greek debt crisis last year and its investment bank saw profits plunge. More than half of the loss on its stock of Greek bonds – €510m – was booked in the fourth quarter [...]
Cole leaves City regulator February 15, 2012 ONE of the City’s top regulators will step down from her role next month, ahead of the Financial Services Authority’s planned split into two separate bodies. Margaret Cole, who joined the City watchdog as head of enforcement in 2005, will leave at the end of March. Having been appointed to the board in 2010, Cole [...]
Morgan Stanley sitting on loss as deal turns sour February 15, 2012 MORGAN Stanley has inadvertently become the biggest shareholder in Danish telecom group TDC after underwriting a deal to sell 15.5 per cent of the company. The investment bank is now sitting on a paper loss from the deal estimated at £4.5m, although the eventual loss (or gain) will not be clear until it has sold [...]
No one said changing would be easy February 15, 2012 YET again, the investment bank sticks out like a sore thumb. Profits rose at every single division of BNP Paribas last year with one exception: the corporate and investment bank. This is bad news for the City, where BNP Paribas employs thousands – many of whom it is now laying off. Hence the “restructuring charge”, [...]
Robert Zoellick to give up top job at the World Bank February 15, 2012 WORLD Bank president Robert Zoellick has said yesterday he will step down in June, as Washington pledges to put a replacement candidate forward within weeks for a job that has always gone to an American. Speculation has been rife over who might take the job when Zoellick departs. Possible US candidates include secretary of state [...]
Internet sales boost Domino’s pizza profit February 15, 2012 PIZZA DELIVERY AND BANKING ARE LATEST TO JOIN THE DIGITAL PAYMENT REVOLUTION DOMINO’S Pizza UK & Ireland said a “breath-taking” surge in online sales and a recovery in the Irish market helped fuel a 14.6 per cent rise in full-year profits, beating City expectations. The pizza delivery company called 2011 “the year of the app”, [...]
Barclays unveils cash-free payment app in bid to poach bank customers February 15, 2012 BARCLAYS has launched a mobile app that could see the bank poach thousands of customers from rivals by giving them the ability to pay without cash. The app, called Pingit, is aimed at boosting Barclays’ brand by linking the lender to a convenient service. It lets users link their mobile number to their bank account [...]
Recession risk grows as Euro GDP contracts February 15, 2012 ECONOMISTS fear the Eurozone is heading for a recession after figures out yesterday showed GDP fell in the final quarter of 2011. Output shrank by 0.3 per cent in the three-month period, Eurostat estimates showed, with France the only major economy to expand. German GDP declined by 0.2 per cent, Spain’s by 0.3 per cent [...]
ECB to pass on bond profits to Greek bailout February 15, 2012 EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) policymakers said they have no wish to book a profit on Greek sovereign bonds the ECB holds, and gave a green light yesterday for Eurozone member states to pass on the funds to Greece. Discussion is underway about how the ECB could book those profits up front, to provide an early [...]
