UK must not miss public service boom in emerging economies April 10, 2014 A LEADING business group will today urge the government to ensure the UK benefits from a growing industry in providing public services to people in emerging markets. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calculates that public procurement in a dozen key emerging economies will be worth £452bn by 2030 – but warns that, at current rates, [...]
Inside Track: The new issues market drifts into ever choppier waters April 10, 2014 THIS was the week when a sudden reality check intervened in the new issues market. It came after a blissful start to the year that has seen share prices popping, books covered multiple times and investors cashing out most profitably. The big losers earlier this week were the technology stocks, with shares in AO World, [...]
Hays says firms are now hiring across Britain April 10, 2014 A BOUNCE in hiring across the country has helped Hays to lift its profit outlook for the year, pushing shares in the UK’s biggest recruiter to the highest level since the recession. The firm’s UK and Ireland business posted a 14 per cent jump in net fees for the first three months of the year, [...]
Analyst Views: How are Hays and the other recruiters faring? April 10, 2014 PAUL JONES | PANMURE GORDONA good update from Hays, with impressive UK growth and further evidence of a pick-up in activity levels and profitability. We believe recruitment stocks could now deliver increasing levels of profitability as activity and productivity levels improve, and with increasing client confidence the outlook remains positive. DAVID O’BRIEN | SHORE CAPITALWe [...]
Centrica slides on British Gas’ £5.6m penalty April 10, 2014 CENTRICA’S share price slumped over one per cent yesterday, after its supply arm British Gas was fined £5.6m by the regulator for unfairly blocking business customers from switching. Energy firms can prevent customers from switching in certain cases, such as if the customer owes money on the account. But Ofgem found that between 2007 and [...]
Standard Life backs BP executive pay for second time in nine years April 10, 2014 MAJOR BP shareholder Standard Life yesterday said it would back the oil company’s executive pay report for just the second time in nine years, after it called on the remuneration committee to beef up its targets. “Over the last year we have engaged with the company about our concerns and I’d like to place on [...]
Icahn pulls out of Ebay battle over PayPal April 10, 2014 ACTIVIST investor Carl Icahn has backed down from his second corporate fight in as many months, with his decision yesterday to cease his crusade for Ebay to spinoff its fast-growing PayPal unit. In February Icahn abandoned his push for Apple to return $50bn (£29.8bn) to investors via a share buyback. Ebay yesterday said Icahn had [...]
Strong start for Scott in defence of Masters title April 10, 2014 WORLD No2 Adam Scott admitted he was overwhelmed by the reception from the Augusta crowd yesterday, as the defence of his Masters title began with a round of three under par. The Australian trails leader Bill Haas by one shot, having found the water on 12 to finish with a double-bogey, ironically the hole which [...]
Top clubs becoming less sustainable April 10, 2014 PREMIER League clubs’ financial health deteriorated last season, according to a key indicator. The proportion of revenue clubs spent on wages rose to an average of 75.3 per cent in 2012-13, analysis by football business expert Kieron O’Connor, who writes influential blog the Swiss Ramble, shows. That was up from 70 per cent in 2011-12, [...]
Defensive dip worries Wenger as Arsenal face Wembley date April 10, 2014 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger admits he is baffled by his side’s crumbling defensive record, as the Gunners prepare for tomorrow’s crunch FA Cup semi-final against Wigan at Wembley. The north Londoners have leaked 23 goals in their last 13 games, an average of 1.8 goals per game – a terrible run that began with a [...]
