MINISTER SLAMS JOB SNOB CRITICS February 20, 2012 CHRIS Grayling, the employment minister, yesterday rounded on critics of the government’s work experience programme, describing them as “job snobs”. He was speaking in response to opponents of the scheme who branded it “21st century slavery” and “forced labour” after it emerged Tesco had offered an unpaid placement stacking shelves in its supermarkets. The scheme [...]
The truth over board room pay February 20, 2012 REAL pay to non-executive directors of FTSE 100 companies has fallen, according to figures released this morning. Pay in the year to June 2011 rose by a median of four per cent, Incomes Data Services has found – lower than both the main measures of inflation over the period. In the 12 months to June [...]
Euro finance ministers finally set to agree second Greek bailout February 20, 2012 THE GREEK government hopes Eurozone finance ministers will approve its €130bn (£108.1bn) bailout package this afternoon, bringing to a close months of tense negotiations in which Greece has struggled to find a way to avoid defaulting on its debts. There are also hopes of finalising a deal with private creditors to swap a total of [...]
Sunday launch for 7-day Sun February 20, 2012 NEWS International is launching the Sun on Sunday this weekend – seven months after it closed the News of the World in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. An internal memo sent to staff yesterday said News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, who flew into the UK last week, would “be staying in London to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES PFIZER WEIGHS PLANS FOR $3BN PART-IPO Pfizer is weighing plans to raise about $3bn this year through a part-flotation of its animal health division, as the drugs giant examines the best way to spin off a business valued at as much as $18bn. The pharmaceuticals group, the world’s second largest by market capitalisation, [...]
Meaningless numbers hinder meaningful debate over pay February 20, 2012 SOME media organisations are likely to carry a headline along the lines of this today: “City Fat Cats Award Themselves 10pc Pay Rise”. A press release sent out by Incomes Data Services (IDS) does indeed claim that pay increases for FTSE 100 non-executive directors averaged 10 per cent last year. Closer inspection proves the claim [...]
Japan sees biggest trade deficit February 20, 2012 Japan logged a record trade deficit in January, government data showed today, the clearest evidence to date of pain from a firm yen, a global slowdown and rising fuel imports needed to offset declining use of nuclear power. Japan’s exports slumped 9.3 per cent last month from a year earlier, slightly less than the median [...]
Merkel backs Gauck for president February 20, 2012 German chancellor Angela Merkel agreed yesterday to support former East German rights activist Joachim Gauck for the country’s presidency, averting a fight with opposition parties that might have distracted her from tackling the Eurozone crisis. Merkel confirmed her support for Gauck, 72, two days after Christian Wulff, her hand-picked choice for president in 2010, resigned [...]
Brussels adds to UK credit easing woes February 20, 2012 THE government’s £20bn credit easing policy has run into a roadblock in part due to a demand by Brussels that the Treasury force banks to pay a minimum amount to participate. The current model under consideration is also not viable for HSBC because it works by reducing banks’ wholesale funding costs – a source of [...]
JJB sales fall but margins improve February 20, 2012 JJB Sports, which is in the middle of a turnaround plan, saw its like-for-like sales fall. The company’s sales for the five weeks to 29 January have fallen 5.7 per cent . However, its gross margin increased by 32.1 per cenT. Meanwhile like for like sales in the second half of the financial year for [...]
