Less competitive countries have greener businesses January 26, 2012 FIRMS in some of Europe’s least competitive economies are the greenest in the world, according to the latest annual ranking of “corporate sustainability” published in Davos by KPMG and green investment company SAM. Portugal boasts the most environmentally friendly business practices, the research concludes, with just over two thirds of the country’s biggest companies included [...]
DAVOS DIARY January 26, 2012 YOU never know whom you will bump into for a chat in Davos, as its founder Klaus Schwab is always happy to remind us, calling this open dialogue “the spirit of Davos”. Nonetheless, the smartly clad Davos Diary was surprised to find herself hailed down urgently by none other than Lloyd’s of London chairman John [...]
Rajoy: A bigger bailout pot will cost donors less January 26, 2012 THE MORE money is put into the Eurozone bailout fund, the less it will be used, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said yesterday, arguing that the larger safety net would calm markets and so make it less likely that countries will need to fall back on it. He met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin [...]
US new home sales sink to a record low January 26, 2012 AMERICA’S dire housing market plumbed new lows in 2011, recording the worst year on record for sales of new homes. Sales fell 2.2 per cent in the final month of the year, data revealed yesterday, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 307,000 homes. Yet separate figures appear to show that elsewhere in the US economy, [...]
Morale among consumers lifts in Germany January 26, 2012 CONSUMER sentiment in Germany is set to improve for the fifth consecutive month in February, according to survey data released yesterday by GfK. And French consumers became slightly less pessimistic in December, official statistics agency Insee said. However, Italian confidence remains at its lowest level in 16 years. The GfK economic expectations index for Germany [...]
Investors give M&B a bloody nose on execs January 26, 2012 MANY shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers yesterday rebelled against the dominance of the company’s largest investor Piedmont by voting against the re-election of its representatives Ron Robson and Douglas McMahon to the board. Although all five directors were voted back onto the board at the company’s AGM, about one in five investors either voted against [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE PRICE OF GOLD WILL CONTINUE TO RISE? January 26, 2012 CHARLES INGHAM | ITT “The price of gold has gone up a lot in the last week. I think it will continue to rise at a slower rate and then its price will peak in the not distant future.” MUSTAFA KURTULDU | CHP “It’s going to steadily increase because the government is devaluing the currency. [...]
Moving costs hit a quarter of average income January 26, 2012 ESTATE agents’ fees, mortgage charges and stamp duty have all contributed to a massive jump in the cost of moving house, according to research out today from Lloyds TSB. Since 2001 the average cost of moving has risen by 69 per cent from £5,290 to £8,922, for someone who already owns a home. Agency fees [...]
DLR workers in line for £2,500 Olympic bonus January 26, 2012 WORKERS on the Docklands Light Railway will get a bonus plus overtime payments of up to £2,500 for turning up to work during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Transport union RMT said the deal “raises the bar” for others in the transport sector working over the Olympics.
Petropavlovsk targets 11pc lift in production January 26, 2012 RUSSIA-FOCUSED gold miner Petropavlovsk said yesterday its full year output will rise 11 per cent to 680,000 ounces in 2012, having beaten last year’s target on the back of higher output at its flagship Pioneer mine. “The group’s 2012 target is 680,000 oz. a compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent since the group [...]
