The new peers are in the House August 1, 2013 THE CAPITALIST noticed a few familiar City faces among the list of 30 new peers who were welcomed to the House of Lords yesterday. Former executive director of corporate and legal affairs at Tesco Lucy Neville-Rolfe made the list, as did Charles Allen, the ex-boss of ITV, who was also appointed chairman of the executive board [...]
Vodafone reshuffles European team to revive its online push August 1, 2013 VODAFONE is to merge its northern and southern European units into one division to be led by Philipp Humm, to help the mobile operator sharpen its new focus on rolling out internet services across the region. Faced with increasing consumer demand for internet access via smartphones and tablets, the world’s second-largest mobile operator has increased [...]
UK to spend £66m on offshore wind August 1, 2013 The government has pledged to spend £66m on offshore wind developments, saying it will help the industry create 30,000 jobs and contribute £7bn to the economy by 2020. The strategy aims to improve the UK industry’s supply chain so that more manufacturing is done here, supporting the growth of jobs and work. “Offshore wind is [...]
Round one to Sky in battle with BT August 1, 2013 Communications regulator Ofcom dealt a blow to BT yesterday, ruling that it is not ready to force Sky to allow its sports channels to be shown on BT’s new TV service. The decision came on the day that BT launched its new TV sports channel, BT Sport, with presenter Jake Humphrey leading the way last night. [...]
More Than owner RSA warns of uncertainty over car insurance August 1, 2013 INSURER RSA yesterday warned that the UK car insurance market remains “very uncertain”, as firms wait to see whether new rules designed to reduce spurious claims are successful. “Some of the benefits have been pre-empted by price reductions,” RSA chief executive Simon Lee told City A.M. “Depending on how effective the reforms are, this will affect pricing in the coming [...]
AstraZeneca hit by high costs as patents expire August 1, 2013 DRUG manufacturer AstraZeneca yesterday warned of higher costs in 2013 as it continues to invest despite a slump in sales caused by a wave of patent expiries on key medicines. The prediction that operating costs will now increase by a low-to-mid single digit percentage rate this year amounts to an effective cut in earnings guidance, [...]
Brit calls on Lloyd’s of London to do more for speciality insurers August 1, 2013 BRIT Insurance, the sponsor of the England and Wales cricket team, yesterday said the new Lloyd’s of London boss must make the market into “a more efficient machine”. Brit chief executive Mark Cloutier told City A.M. that Lloyd’s must make a renewed effort to “help deal with the cost of underwriting” in the historic market. [...]
New CEO for Rentokil as Brown steps down August 1, 2013 RENTOKIL Initial’s chief executive Alan Brown (right) has decided to quit the support services firm after five turbulent years at the helm, during which he sold struggling postal chain City Link for just £1. He will be succeeded by regional MD Andy Ransom on 1 October.
Countrywide awaits second housing boost August 1, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE is anticipating another boost from the government’s Help to Buy scheme when the second phase comes into force next year, the UK’s largest estate agency said yesterday, as it posted a jump in half-year profits. Countrywide’s core business is in second hand home sales, which is not covered by the first part of Help [...]
Jupiter’s Bonham Carter says Fed uncertainty stalks markets August 1, 2013 JUPITER Fund Management boss Edward Bonham Carter yesterday said equity markets would continue to wobble as investors prepared for a pullback in American quantitative easing (QE). The FTSE 250 listed stock picker, which attracted £426m more from investors in the three months to June, said signals from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about reducing [...]
