Asda hires new finance chief as Richard Mayfield joins Walmart November 26, 2013 ASDA has appointed a new chief financial officer after announcing yesterday that Richard Mayfield is to leave the retailer after just a year in the role to join parent company Walmart. The grocery chain said Alex Russo will join the group in January from Peruvian restaurant franchise specialist Delosi, which works with brands including Starbucks, [...]
UK food giant ABF is mulling Tilda takeover November 26, 2013 ASSOCIATED British Foods (ABF) was reported yesterday to be mulling a bid to take over rice producer Tilda for £250m. The British food giant, which already owns Primark and Twinings, is said to be interested in the popular rice brand, according to Sky News. The Thakrar family, which owns Tilda, are contemplating a sale, and [...]
Ofgem admits energy market is not working November 26, 2013 OFGEM’S interim chief executive Andrew Wright yesterday said he understood why the public mistrusted energy firms and denied allegations that the regulator was “feeble” and “seriously defective”. Wright told MPs on the energy and climate change committee that the retail market “isn’t working as well as it should do” and blamed a loss of confidence [...]
Crown Estate shelves plans for wind farm in Bristol Channel November 26, 2013 THE CROWN Estate, which controls seabeds around the UK, yesterday said there are no plans to build a wind farm in the Bristol Channel after RWE Npower pulled out of a £4bn project. “Having evaluated the site we feel this it is not a viable investment opportunity at the present time and we therefore have [...]
Mayor plans a building push on HS2 junction November 26, 2013 BORIS Johnson is planning a new agency to revive the area around Old Oak Common, where the High Speed 2 and Crossrail routes will converge. The Mayor of London will set up a development corporation, similar to those used to regenerate the areas around the Olympic venues and foster growth at Canary Wharf in the [...]
Monte dei Paschi reveals massive rights offering November 26, 2013 THE BOARD of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena approved a colossal €3bn (£2.51bn) rights issue yesterday, seeking to save itself from nationalisation. At the beginning of this month, the European Commission received the bank’s restructuring plan, which has still not been approved. In February this year, Monte dei Paschi received a bailout from [...]
Former Kazakh bank chairman told to pay $300m over fraud November 26, 2013 FORMER BTA bank chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov was yesterday ordered to pay $294m in damages to the Kazakh lender. The court case revolved around claims Ablyazov misappropriated a portfolio of AAA-rated securities worth nearly $300m by transferring them to overseas shell companies he owned. At the High Court yesterday Judge Launcelot Henderson said Ablyazov “must have been [...]
EU wants US surveillance protection November 26, 2013 The European Commission called yesterday for new protection for Europeans under US law against misuse of personal data, in an attempt to keep in check the surveillance revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding said she wanted US legislative change before mid-2014.
UK gets poor rank on state pension November 26, 2013 The British state pension ranks among the most meagre in the developed world, according to a new analysis of the provision for retirees. A UK state pension covers only 32.6 per cent of a typical retiree’s prior income, compared to an average of 54.4 per cent in the 34 OECD countries. Only Mexico’s system ranks [...]
Severn Trent’s half-year profits fall November 26, 2013 SEVERN TRENT yesterday blamed rising costs for a 5.8 per cent fall in half-year profits, but raised its dividend and reiterated its promise to keep household bill rises below inflation. Pre-tax profits at the FTSE 100-listed water company fell to £141.4m from £150m the previous year, but the firm said that results were in line with [...]
