SHAKE-UP LOOMS AT MINER ENRC March 18, 2012 MEHMET Dalman (pictured), the new chairman at London-listed mining group ENRC, has asked several board members to resign, according to the Sunday Times. Dalman took up the post last month with permission to shake up the board. The Kazakh government last year staged a dramatic boardroom coup that ousted City grandees Sir Richard Sykes and [...]
BC goes back to the future with new deal for Foxtons March 18, 2012 THE private equity firm that lost control of Foxtons amid the housing slump is on the verge of buying it back from its banks. BC Partners, led by managing partner Charlie Bott, is set to take a majority shareholding for between £55m and £75m, two years after the estate agent was shored up by a [...]
Rusal defends new chair to shareholders March 18, 2012 RUSSIAN aluminium company Rusal was forced to defend its choice of new chairman yesterday after Sual Partners, one of its main shareholders, publicly panned the move last week. Rusal said in a statement: “Barry Cheung’s election as a chairman was supported by a majority vote of the board, including the independent directors. This proves that [...]
Crunch time for Game as rent deadline looms March 18, 2012 GAME group has just a week to secure financial support as the stricken video games retailer teeters on the brink of administration. The company, which has about 1,300 shops worldwide trading as Game and Gamestation, revealed last week it was holding talks with potential backers as it attempts to raise more than £100m it needs [...]
Households hit by rising cost of living March 18, 2012 HOUSEHOLD finances remain under intense pressure from rising living costs, according to several leading surveys released this morning. Despite a slowdown in the UK’s official measure of consumer price inflation in recent months, people still fear more price hikes. “Households’ current inflation observations climbed to a six-month peak [this month], while price expectations for the [...]
…yet Brits splash cash while on holiday March 18, 2012 BRITISH holidaymakers splashed £12.4bn while abroad last year, according to data from Visa Europe released this morning. The total was up by a steady two per cent on the previous year, with higher spending expected this summer despite ongoing economic woes. Three in 10 people surveyed said they are planning to holiday abroad in June [...]
China’s manufacturers turn to Europe for innovation March 18, 2012 CHINESE manufacturers are set to snap up a series of firms in Europe as they try to fast-track innovation and development, according to research published today. Large and medium-sized industrial firms in the emerging market economy are mulling more mergers and acquisitions, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. More than half of the senior executives [...]
London house prices keep on soaring upward March 18, 2012 HOUSE prices are seeing their best start to the year since 2004, according to a study out today from Rightmove, while another study showed rental prices are at record highs. Average prices have increased 1.6 per cent this month to £236,939, taking the quarterly increase to 4.9 per cent, while prices in Greater London are [...]
CITY CYCLISTS SHOW THEY CARE WITH OLYMPIAN CHARITY RIDE March 18, 2012 TEAMS from the City are signing up to CARE’s Gold Bike Ride supported by City A.M. on Saturday 23 June. The route will see cyclists ride a minimum of 65 miles and a maximum of 130 miles of the Olympic Road Race route a month before the nation’s competitors take to the saddle. A team [...]
Japanese help to boost UK tourist trade March 18, 2012 JAPAN’S economic recovery has fuelled a resurgence in Japanese travellers to the UK, helping to boost overall tourist spend by 46 per cent last month compared with the same period last year. Japanese shoppers spent an average of £449 per store when shopping in the UK, with overall spend up by 35 per cent in [...]
