Tougher penalties for firms that annoy Brits with nuisance calls March 31, 2014 COMPANIES exploiting data to make nuisance phonecalls will face fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds under new plans from the government. Culture secretary Maria Miller is set to launch a consultation this year on lowering the threshold for when firms can be fined for making nuisance calls and sending spam text messages, according to [...]
Network Rail braced for delay fines March 31, 2014 NETWORK Rail, the public body that runs Britain’s railways, is braced for fines of around £70m for falling short on punctuality targets in recent years. The Office of Rail Regulation has the power to penalise Network Rail if less than 92 per cent of trains arrive within 10 minutes of the schedule, and figures this [...]
Meet Yuan Yafei: coming to a high street near you March 31, 2014 HOUSE OF Fraser is set to be snapped up by a former Chinese government employee who developed his £5bn conglomerate Sanpower from humble origins selling computers in the eastern city of Nanjing. Yuan Yafei, who Forbes estimates has a personal fortune of $485m (£291m), is currently the chairman of Sanpower, a Nanjing-based company that owns [...]
Bottom Line: Chinese ambition trumps a market return March 31, 2014 ALMOST 25 years ago, a Hong Kong retail tycoon called Dickson Poon stunned London by taking a chance on Harvey Nichols – a fading department store in dire need of a makeover. Poon was one of the first to spot a trend that now seems obvious; the Asian shopper’s thirst for designer labels that has [...]
UK leads the way with a surge in private equity dealmaking March 31, 2014 BRITAIN led the private equity dealmaking pack across Europe in the last quarter, with 40 per cent of buyout values coming from UK buyers, a study out today claims. The UK’s market share is eight per cent higher than it was last year, underscoring the growing strength and stronger sentiment of the British economy. In [...]
London bounce for new listings on stock debuts March 31, 2014 NEWLY listed shares in London outperform the wider market by 10.5 per cent in the first year according to a new study, sharpening the investment potential of the current crop of firms seeking a listing. Newly listed shares, sold through initial public offerings (IPOs), also outperform their more established rivals over the first six months [...]
Motorola nabs more phone sales March 31, 2014 MOTOROLA, the smartphone firm that Lenovo is taking over, has seen its UK sales explode following the launch of the low-cost Moto G in November. Currently owned by Google, Motorola had a mere 0.9 per cent share of UK smartphone sales in September, but has now grown to six per cent, according to figures from [...]
Most Britons have not learnt the lessons from the winter floods March 31, 2014 ALMOST two thirds of Britons do not have or don’t know if they have flood insurance for their homes, according to new research. Hundreds of homes across the country were wrecked by flood damage due to the extreme weather in December and the early months of this year. Yet according to a survey commissioned by [...]
EU lenders cut back to boost performance in stress tests March 31, 2014 BANK lending will not rise as fast as hoped this year as cautious European institutions cut back in risky lending, EY forecast today. The Eurozone lenders, facing an asset quality review (AQR) and stress test, are being careful with their lending to make sure their balance sheets appear in good shape. EY expects lending will [...]
Racing City heads make waves over at the Royal Victoria Dock March 31, 2014 THE FOUNDER of foreign exchange consultancy IFX, Nick Williams, has just enjoyed a triumphant weekend down by Canary Wharf – although his success had little to do with currency fluctuations. Williams and his navigator, RSA risk consultant Martin Robinson, raced his IFX P1 powerboat to victory in the Royal Victoria Dock during a two-day event [...]
