German central banker attacks Greek funding May 14, 2015 THE GREEK government is being given unfair access to European finance via emergency bank funding, the Bundesbank’s chief said yesterday, taking a tough line on the peripheral state. Jens Weidmann told German newspaper Handelsblatt the set-up strains European Central Bank rules. “Given the ban on monetary financing of states, I don’t think it is OK [...]
Pimco equities chief to leave the firm in June May 14, 2015 Pimco said yesterday its London-based global equities chief investment officer, Virginie Maisonneuve, would be leaving the firm next month after less than 18 months. The US firm also said two of its equity strategies woudl go, representing three per cent of its assets.
English football clubs’ shortage of success in Europe is a risk for BT May 14, 2015 Gavin Patterson’s BT, which bid a sky-high £897m for the live rights to Champions League football for the next three years, could see the attractiveness of its package diminished if English clubs continue to perform badly in the prestigious competition next year. Four Premier League teams qualify for the competition but there are fears [...]
George Osborne gives Goldman Sachs alum Jim O’Neill top Treasury job May 14, 2015 Former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill has been given a peerage and a top job in George Osborne’s treasury. The chancellor of the exchequer tweeted yesterday afternoon: “I am delighted to confirm Jim O’Neill as the new commercial secretary to the treasury to make devolution and the Northern Powerhouse happen.” https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/598855150640472064 Lord O’Neill, [...]
Business backs Mark Carney’s push for in/out EU referendum vote May 14, 2015 Business leaders welcomed Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s comments yesterday, calling for the government to act with “appropriate speed” in pushing through an in/out referendum on Britain’s EU membership. In a radio interview with the BBC, Carney said it was “in the interests of everybody” to answer questions surrounding the UK’s relationship with the EU, adding [...]
TalkTalk chief Dido Harding pushes to split BT and Openreach as profit rises May 14, 2015 TalkTalk boss Dido Harding renewed her calls for the regulator to force BT to sell its telecoms network division Openreach yesterday, and said more competition in the market would lead to further investment. Harding made the comments while discussing TalkTalk’s results for the year to 31 March, which showed a 3.2 per cent rise [...]
British retail traffic lower in April but City shoppers buck the trend May 14, 2015 LONDONERS haven’t lost the buzz of bargain-hunting, despite the rest of the UK seeing a small drop in shoppers on the High Street. The British Retail Consortium monthly measure of shopping activity released today found average footfall across the UK in April was 0.8 per cent lower than a year ago, down from a 0.2 [...]
O2 boosts its customers and revenue at the start of 2015 May 14, 2015 TELEFONICA UK, the company behind O2, posted positive results yesterday ahead of a potential £10bn sale of the mobile network to Hutchison Whampoa. It reported sales of £1.3bn in the first quarter of 2015, up 1.1 per cent from the same time last year. There were also 133,000 new mobile contracts for the firm in [...]
London house prices no longer steepest risers May 14, 2015 HOUSE prices in the rest of the south-east and in East Anglia are now growing faster than those in London, according to figures out today from LSL Property Services. Prices in London were 6.8 per cent higher in the three months to April than in the same period of 2014. By contrast those in the rest [...]
Center Parcs hires SSP chairman Vagn Sorensen just as new bidders Starwood and CVC Capital weigh in May 14, 2015 Center Parcs revealed yesterday it has hired a new chairman at the same time it emerged that Starwood Capital has teamed up with CVC Capital to consider a joint £2.5bn bid for the group. Private equity owner Blackstone launched a dual track process earlier this year to either sell or launch an initial public offering [...]
