London silver fix to lose its lustre in August May 14, 2014 ALMOST 120 years of trading history will come to an end in August, when one of the last setters of the London silver fix market – an integral part of the city’s £1 trillion-a-year silver market – gets rid of its seats. Deutsche Bank said yesterday that it had agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Marks and Spencer unveils new collection May 14, 2014 HIGH street giant Marks and Spencer has revealed its 2014 autumn/winter collection of womenswear, in a bid to bolster a small upturn in fashion sales. In figures released last month, the retailer saw a 0.6 per cent rise for the first three months of the year, against 10 quarters of decline.
China charges ex-Glaxo exec with corruption May 14, 2014 CHINA yesterday charged the former head of Glaxosmithkline’s operations in the country with corruption after a 10-month investigation into payments made to medical staff. Mark Reilly stepped down from his role at the pharmaceutical giant and left China when the probe was announced in July 2013, but returned several months later to help with the [...]
HSBC rows back over chairman’s bonus to appease shareholders May 14, 2014 HSBC has rowed back on plans to award chairman Douglas Flint a £2.25m bonus share package, amid rising anger from its shareholders. Instead, the bank said it would pay Flint a one-off £1.06m sum to reflect his increased workload, largely on regulatory issues. The bonus amounted to 44 per cent of Flint’s pay package, which [...]
Bonus clawback plans present a legal minefield May 14, 2014 PLANS TO clawback bank bonuses, which could see some awards being reclaimed a decade after they are handed out, go too far, a leading industry body has warned. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said in its submission to a consultation yesterday that it would support a broad bonus clawback policy, but that it would be [...]
Bottom Line: Culture of bribery makes for risky business May 14, 2014 EVERYONE rightly wants a share of China’s growth, but are companies ready for the challenges of a region where corruption is part of the landscape? China’s problem is notorious. President Xi Jingping is publicly leading an anti-corruption crusade and last year, Chinese courts convicted 29,000 people for embezzlement, bribery or dereliction of duty. China scored [...]
Investors rebel over exec pay at National Express meeting May 14, 2014 NATIONAL Express endured a bruising rebellion against executive pay yesterday, following complaints from union-aligned investors about its treatment of staff in the US. Almost 36 per cent of the investors who voted rejected the firm’s remuneration report at the annual meeting in Birmingham yesterday, while 11.5 per cent rebelled against National Express’ planned pay policy. [...]
Mike Ashley in talks to buy 33 LA Fitness sites May 14, 2014 SPORTS Direct’s billionaire owner Mike Ashley has set his sights on expanding into the health and leisure industry, with plans to buy 33 sites from LA Fitness. The health club chain confirmed yesterday that it was in talks with the Newcastle United football club owner over the 33 sites, which had been put up for [...]
UK’s Netflix addicts push service to overtake BBC iPlayer and 4OD May 14, 2014 NETFLIX is the second largest driver of online traffic in the UK and Ireland, just two years since it launched, and now accounts for 17.8 per cent of web traffic. The streaming service is beaten only by YouTube’s 19.9 per cent share of traffic, according to research by Sandvine. “This rapid ascent underscores how important [...]
Barclays loses top dealmaker in Asia amid bank staff overhaul May 14, 2014 BARCLAYS’ most senior dealmaker in Asia has quit the British-based business, delivering another blow to the company’s investment bank. Jason Rynbeck, who joined Barclays in 2008, resigned from the business last Thursday, according to a filing with regulators in Hong Kong. He was vice-chairman of mergers and acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region and joined Barclays [...]
