Bank of England sorry for house sale hold ups March 25, 2015 MORE than 700 house sales were delayed by a day or more when the Bank of England’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payments system ground to a halt in October 2014, it said yesterday. It apologised for the problems, and has promised to improve the contingency plans in case it happens again. The RTGS system broke when [...]
Cable warns businesses: Board quotas are still a nuclear option March 25, 2015 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable yesterday warned Britain’s leading businesses that gender quotas remained “a nuclear option” if progress on female board appointments did not continue. Speaking at the launch of Lord Davies’ latest report, in which the former banker monitors female appointments to FTSE 100 boards, Cable said: “I’ve always argued that as a nuclear [...]
Boris Johnson appoints new deputy Roger Evans as his return to parliament nears March 25, 2015 Boris Johnson appointed Roger Evans as statutory deputy mayor for London yesterday. He will stand in for Johnson on occasions when the Mayor himself cannot be present. Evans, will take up the new role on 13 May, shortly after Johnson is expected to been elected as an MP. There has been speculation about how Johnson [...]
Balfour targets better business March 25, 2015 Balfour Beatty’s new chief exec has wasted no time in trying to change how the firm operates. INFRASTRUCTURE firm Balfour Beatty’s new chief executive Leo Quinn said yesterday that the company had moved on from the poor business practices of the past. Balfour has endured a series of well-documented difficulties, with several profit warnings over [...]
Know the Pryce of the election March 25, 2015 Those of you who are, like The Capitalist, long in the tooth (OK, old) will remember Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid”. The phrase, which put Bill in the Oval Office for eight years, has been resurrected by Vicky Pryce, Andy Ross and Peter Urwin in their pre-General Election book, It’s [...]
City bosses in charity sleepout March 25, 2015 TEN OF the City’s top bosses will sleep rough tonight to raise money and awareness of Action for Children, a charity for the UK’s young homeless people. Michael Tobin, the former chief executive of TelecityGroup, has invited business leaders to brave the cold for one night and sleep under the stars in front of the [...]
The AA to raise £935m for debt repayment plan March 25, 2015 The AA announced plans to raise £935m yesterday in a bid to pay off debts and reduce interest payments at the motoring organisation. The 110-year-old company plans to raise £200m in equity through a placing and a further £735m in a bond issue. The restructuring will involve the refinancing of £655m class B notes and [...]
Russia proposes trans-Siberian super highway linking to the US March 25, 2015 RUSSIA has unveiled proposals for a superhighway rolling all the way from London across to the US. The Trans-Eurasian belt Development, proposed by Vladimir Yakunin who is head of the Russian Railways, would be the first modern route to run across Russia, linking to systems in Europe and Asia. This would mean Brits could be [...]
Brits expecting strong year for house prices March 25, 2015 HOMEOWNERS and prospective buyers are expecting elevated house price growth over the next 12 months. It comes after a dip in expectations in February, which looked to be the beginning of a welcome slowdown in the market after a year of rapid growth and declining affordability. The Halifax house price optimism index released today rose [...]
John Laing sees profits soar 7pc to £120.4m March 25, 2015 Infrastructure group John Laing yesterday reported a seven per cent jump in pre-tax profit in its first set of results since its listing. Pre-tax profit climbed to £120.4m in 2014 as the net asset value rose 23 per cent from £528m to £649.8m in the year. John Laing committed £217.2m to projects in the year, [...]
