Work scheme drops sanctions for the quitters February 29, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT has bowed to enormous pressure and removed the threat of benefit sanctions from jobseekers who do not wish to complete their placement in an opinion-splitting work experience scheme. Previously, participants – who work unpaid for eight weeks while continuing to receive jobseeker’s allowance – lost their benefits for two weeks if they dropped out [...]
RESPONSES TO THE KAY REVIEW INTO SHORT-TERMISM February 29, 2012 STEPHEN HADDRILL FINANCIAL REPORTING COUNCIL Quarterly reporting adds little by way of new information and can be easily manipulated, but it does provide a regular short-term trading opportunity, and, given the continuing requirement on companies for timely disclosure of market sensitive information, we support its abolition. SIR TERRY LEAHY FORMER TESCO CHIEF EXECUTIVE Sir Terry [...]
CapCo enjoys value hike and sells properties in West End February 29, 2012 CAPITAL & COUNTIES (CapCo), the owner of Covent Garden Market and Earl’s Court, has unveiled an 11.7 per cent hike in net asset value and the disposal of its West End properties. The listed developer reported a jump in NAV to 166p per share in 2011 thanks in part to a rise in its total [...]
Taylor Wimpey pays dividend February 29, 2012 TAYLOR WIMPEY resumed paying a dividend yesterday as its tactic of focusing on margin rather than volume saw it swing back to a full-year profit. The sale of its North American business in 2011 had also improved its financial position, the housebuilder said, allowing it to reduce debt to £117m from £655m, and propose a [...]
Peugeot and GM confirm tie-up and capital raising February 29, 2012 PSA PEUGEOT and General Motors yesterday confirmed their long-trailed plans for a strategic alliance that the firms say will create $2bn in synergies within five years. GM will take a seven per cent stake in struggling Peugeot, making it the French firm’s second-biggest shareholder, and the companies will pool research, development and supplier relationships, they [...]
Cameron’s anger as unions mull mass strike action during London Olympics February 29, 2012 DAVID Cameron has condemned calls from the leader of the UK’s biggest trade union for strike action during the Olympics as “completely unacceptable and unpatriotic”. Len McCluskey, head of Unite, had said workers should consider disrupting the Games as a protest against the government’s planned slowdown of public spending. McCluskey said people coming to Britain [...]
CVC is set to break private equity dry spell across Europe February 29, 2012 CVC Capital Partners is to buy Nordic construction products and machinery distributor Ahlsell from Cinven and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for €1.8bn (£1.5bn), in Europe’s biggest private equity deal since last summer. “Our acquisition of Ahlsell offers an exciting platform for growth, both organically and through acquisitions,” CVC partners Peter Tornquist and Soren Vestergaard-Poulsen said [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD TUBE DRIVERS GO ON STRIKE DURING THE OLYMPICS? February 29, 2012 YILMAZ OZTURK | ENIGIN UK “It’s unfair. It’s part of their role – they get paid all through the year and extra passengers would not be coming into their cab.” JAMES WADDELL | CITY OF LONDON “The Olympics is a time for Londoners to come together and unite. It’s important that all Londoners help to [...]
Telco boss did hard job well, say analysts February 29, 2012 INDUSTRY figures came to the defence of former Everything Everywhere chief executive Tom Alexander yesterday after a senior executive at parent company France Telecom criticised his short-lived tenure. Alexander quit the firm just a year after it was formed from the merger between Orange and T-Mobile in the wake of a series of lacklustre results. [...]
James Bond studio slumps to £3.9m loss February 29, 2012 PINEWOOD Studios, home to iconic British film series including James Bond and Carry On, has reported an annual £3.9m loss, despite posting record revenues for 2011. The studio enjoyed a bumper year of filming, with scenes for new Bond movie Skyfall and Tolkien adaptation The Hobbit shooting on its sets, but was hit by the [...]
