Lloyds shakes up management February 1, 2012 Lloyds has shaken up its management structure, helping take pressure off its chief executive, who recently had two months off work due to fatigue. Alison Brittain becomes group director for retail banking, while Antonio Lorenzo is to run the asset finance division along with the group strategy and international and wealth management arms. Wholesale banking [...]
ICAP profits take hit from Eurozone crisis February 1, 2012 Financial markets broker ICAP has cut its profits forecast for the current year due to weaker trading linked to the euro zone crisis. ICAP, an inter-dealer broker in the bond, foreign exchange and swaps markets, said it now expects to make a profit of between £336m and £358m, down from its prediction in November of [...]
BHP sells titanium business to Rio February 1, 2012 Global miner BHP Billiton has sold its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto, marking its exit from the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio Tinto, with the final cost to be agreed by [...]
Home Retail appoints new Argos boss February 1, 2012 Home Retail Group has appointed a former Best Buy executive to be the new boss of its struggling Argos business. The firm named John Walden as managing director of the 759-store Argos chain, reporting to group chief executive Terry Duddy. Walden, who was at top US electricals retailer Best Buy between 1999 and 2007 before [...]
FSA fines former JC Flowers boss £3m January 31, 2012 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the financier Ravi Shankar Sinha almost £3m for a false invoicing scheme while he was in charge of the UK operations of private equity firm JC Flowers. The financial services watchdog demanded that Sinha, one of JC Flowers’ leading dealmakers who had led attempts to buy Northern Rock [...]
Tesco sales growth slows January 31, 2012 Sales growth at Tesco has slowed to just half that of the broader grocery market as rivals like Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury gain share, data showed. Market research by Kantar WorldPanel showed grocery sales in Britian climbed 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to January 22 compared with 4.8 per cent in [...]
FTSE rises as Greece closes in on deal January 31, 2012 The FTSE 100 rose in early trading on hopes Greece was nearing a debt swap deal required to salvage the nation’s finances while European leaders agreed on stricter budget discipline measures to help prevent further debt disasters in the region. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said negotiators had made “significant progress” in talks to strike [...]
UK consumer credit drops January 31, 2012 Unsecured lending to Britain’s consumers posted its sharpest drop since at least 1993 in December, official data showed on Tuesday, highlighting their reluctance to take on more debt. Britons have been reluctant to take on more credit for major purchases, as bank lending conditions are tight and uncertainty over jobs is weighing on sentiment, making [...]
Eurozone unemployment hits new record January 31, 2012 Euro zone unemployment has risen to its highest level since the euro single currency was introduced, data showed, a day after EU leaders promised to focus on creating millions of new jobs to try to kickstart Europe’s floundering economy. Seasonally adjusted unemployment among the 17 countries sharing the euro rose to 10.4 per cent in [...]
Santander profits dive by 35pc January 31, 2012 Spain’s Santander reported on Tuesday 2011 net profit of 5.35bn euros (£4.4bn), down 35 per cent after the group took extra provisions against toxic real estate assets in Spain. Recurring net profit was 7.02bn euros, 14 per cent less than in 2010 and in line with analysts’ expectations.
