Lloyds boss will not take 2011 bonus January 13, 2012 Lloyds Banking Group Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio has waived his bonus for 2011 due to a two-month absence, the bank’s performance and the tough economic circumstances faced by its customers. The bonus could have been worth £2.4m for Horta-Osorio, who will get basic pay of £1.1m He may also get £4.5m in a long-term plan [...]
Banks lead FTSE up after bond auctions boost January 13, 2012 Banks led the FTSE 100 up this morning as they were buoyed by tentative signs of recovery in the Eurozone. European shares and the single currency rose after positive comments on the region’s outlook from the European Central Bank and the success of Spain’s bond auction yesterday. Meanwhile Italy launched a €4.75bn bond auction today. [...]
Italy’s borrowing costs drop at auction January 13, 2012 Italy’s three-year debt costs fell below five per cent at the first bond auction of the year spurring hopes the troubled borrower would be able to make it through a refinancing hump in the first months of the year. Domestic demand fuelled by cheap European Central Bank funds allowed Italy to raise the maximum planned [...]
Factory gate inflation lower than expected in December January 13, 2012 Factory gate inflation fell more than expected in December, official data showed, boosting expectations that the Bank of England will inject more stimulus into the struggling economy soon. The Office for National Statistics said producer output price inflation slowed to 4.8 per cent on the year from 5.4 percent in November, a bigger drop than [...]
Ted Baker reports strong Christmas January 13, 2012 British designer brand Ted Baker said it would meet forecasts for year profit after a sharp rise in sales over the Christmas period put it firmly in the festive winners’ camp. The group said on Friday its retail sales increased 15.7 per cent in the eight weeks to 7 January driven by a 7.3 per [...]
China’s foreign exchange reserves slip January 13, 2012 China’s official reserves slipped to $3.18 trillion in the final quarter of 2011, signalling that the days of rampant export-led accumulation of foreign currency are numbered and that new monetary policy steps may be needed to counter capital outflows. The People’s Bank of China published data on Friday showing a $20.6bn, or 0.6 per cent, [...]
Invensys issues profit warning January 13, 2012 Invensys said its profit for the year would be hit by higher costs in its rail signalling division and in work on control and safety systems in eight nuclear reactors under construction in China. The group said as a result of the operational issues, its operating profit for the year to end-March 2012 would be [...]
TESCO TO BET £500M ON UK FIGHTBACK January 12, 2012 A RATTLED Tesco is set to splash around £500m on revamping its UK store network and recruiting new staff after it stunned the City with its first profit warning in twenty years. Chief executive Philip Clarke is ready to sanction an investment of “hundreds of millions” of pounds in Britain after the supermarket yesterday posted [...]
Tyrie: new watchdog is already in need of reform January 12, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S new consumer watchdog for financial services must break away from the “bureaucratic” and “box-ticking culture” of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), according to a stark warning this morning from Andrew Tyrie MP. Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, has blasted the past failures of the FSA to protect consumers — and fears [...]
Clegg in push for blind CVs January 12, 2012 JOB APPLICATIONS would be fairer if CVs were made anonymous and schools were not mentioned, Nick Clegg claimed yesterday. The deputy Prime Minister believes racist HR staff may judge applicants on their names, and the “old boys network” means having a prestigious school on the form helps some applicants to the disadvantage of others. Clegg [...]
