The captain of industry who says the UK needs to be more like Asia November 20, 2011 FROM the CBI’s offices on the second floor of the Centre Point tower, you get a great view of the construction site that will eventually become the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station. It is fitting that the CBI, which was one of the railway’s biggest supporters, is so close to the action, and a reminder [...]
Bonus rules lift City workers’ base pay November 20, 2011 REGULATION of bonuses contributed to a 12 per cent hike in City workers’ base pay during the year to September, a survey reveals this morning. Standard pay at the top spiked even more sharply with managing directors earning 21 per cent more than a year earlier, as firms looked to attract the top managers with [...]
Chinese authorities may permit a more flexible currency November 20, 2011 CHINA will make the yuan more flexible in either direction and recent reforms to make the currency more market-oriented have begun to achieve some results, Premier Wen Jiabao said on the weekend. The comments probably do not signal an imminent widening of the yuan’s daily trading band, but they underscore Beijing’s intention to introduce two-way [...]
Unnecessary trading costs wipe off billions from pensions, report claims November 20, 2011 BILLIONS of pounds worth of annual costs are endured by pension funds due to “excessive trading” by fund managers, a report has claimed today. Research by SCM Private states that £3.1bn in “unnecessary” costs are hidden from investors each year. “The hidden pension fund dealing costs that we have identified could be removed simply through [...]
Call to hold off auto-enrolment November 20, 2011 The government should hold off its auto-enrolment pension plan for two years, the Institute of Directors will argue today. The plan – which will force companies to automatically enrol workers in a pension scheme unless they actively opt-out – will hamper consumer spending and result in more wage freezes, the business group says. “If the [...]
Pay freezes up in manufacturing November 20, 2011 Nearly one in five (17.3 per cent) pay settlements in the manufacturing sector are resulting in frozen wages, according to data released today by industry body EEF and JAM Recruitment. Despite persistently high inflation, the average settlement for pay in factories slipped to 2.4 per cent in the three months to the end of October, [...]
Souter mulls an Edinburgh airport bid November 20, 2011 STAGECOACH millionaire Sir Brian Souter could launch a surprise bid for Edinburgh airport when its forced sale goes through next year. Souter Investments hopes to take advantage of the Competition Commission’s decision to make owner BAA sell some of its airports over monopoly fears. The tycoon – whose plans for the £450m asset are understood [...]
Firms fear lack of global rules November 20, 2011 SIXTY-TWO per cent of multinational companies want greater harmonisation in how regulations are applied across borders, with the regulatory environment cited as the single biggest barrier to operating in some of the world’s key markets. The amount of companies wanting regulation to be applied in a more consistent way rises to 64 per cent among [...]
City hit by £1.4bn a year bill for new FSA red tape November 20, 2011 A TIDAL wave of red tape will cost the City up to £1.4bn a year, according to new research. Regulations introduced over the past 12 months by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will create compliance costs of £1.1bn to £1.4bn annually, Hargreaves Lansdown said. City firms also face one-off implementation costs of £253m to £323m, [...]
Engineering giant Tomkins closes in on $550m sale of its tyre safety business November 20, 2011 ENGINEERING giant Tomkins is closing in on a sale of its tyre safety arm, with a string of private equity firms understood to be monitoring the asset. The firm’s valves and gauges business could also be hived off in what would be a major restructuring of Tomkins’ Northern Irish business, according to the Sunday Telegraph. [...]
