CITY VIEWS: SHOULD FRED GOODWIN HAVE LOST HIS KNIGHTHOOD? February 1, 2012 DAVID HUGHES | LAING O’ROURKE “I think it’s the right thing to do. He caused the UK economy such a lot of damage that it’s worth it to make a point. He wasn’t solely responsible for the collapse of RBS but he was very instrumental.” ALEX IGEL | EMPOWERED SYSTEMS “Absolutely. I’m a passionate believer in [...]
London office take-up falls but tech firm demand soars February 1, 2012 TAKE-UP of central London offices fell by 27 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year, as the global economic slowdown continued to take its toll, according to research by Knight Frank. The property consultancy said take-up fell to 10.7m square feet last year. However, this coincided with a fall in supply and doubling [...]
ICAP profits sink but shares surge February 1, 2012 SHARES in broker ICAP jumped 7.9 per cent to 362p yesterday – despite the firm announcing job losses and reduced annual profit expectations. The unusual situation occurred after the world’s largest interdealer agent beat gloomy analyst predictions that the situation would be even worse. Yesterday ICAP announced that profit for the year ending in March [...]
CAN ICAP BOOST ITS PROFITABILITY IN 2012? February 1, 2012 NESE GUNER | CITI As we expected, ICAP announced that it has taken action to reduce its cost base and been realigning the biz by reducing headcount in areas of lowered profitability. The cost base has already been reduced by a net £20m (~1.5 per cent of underlying cost base) and we think there is [...]
Radicals admit plan to blow up LSE and Mayor’s offices February 1, 2012 FOUR terrorists who claimed they were inspired by Al-Qaeda yesterday pleaded guilty to planning bomb attacks targeting the London Stock Exchange, as well as other City landmarks. Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah, who were arrested in December 2010, all admitted yesterday to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. [...]
Brewin fees drop as clients sit on hands February 1, 2012 THE GLOOM in investment management deepened yesterday when Brewin Dolphin reported a slump in commissions, as clients stayed on the sidelines amid volatile markets. Brewin said first quarter commission income fell 24.4 per cent year-on-year to £17.5m. The firm said the figure had continued to fall into January but other income has held up. The [...]
Home Retail hires Walden as Argos boss February 1, 2012 HOME Retail Group has named former Best Buy executive John Walden as the new boss of its struggling Argos business. He takes over as managing director of the chain next month and will report to group chief executive Terry Duddy, who had taken on the role temporarily after the departure of Sara Weller last April. [...]
Black market sales are the main culprit February 1, 2012 PAIN in Spain. That is the cause of lower sales at Imperial Tobacco. The Spaniards, hurt by austerity and high unemployment, have decided to kick the cancer sticks. The quintessential cafe culture moment – a strong black coffee and cigarette – is a thing of the past. Or is it? We doubt it somehow. While [...]
Imperial Tobacco takings fall as Spain woes persist February 1, 2012 IMPERIAL TOBACCO said yesterday its cigarette volumes fell seven per cent in the final quarter of 2011 after sales were hit by a tough Spanish market, Syrian sanctions and destocking in Ukraine and the US. The world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, whose brands include Davidoff and Gauloises, said sales were down by one per cent in [...]
Shop group pins hopes on US internet expert February 1, 2012 ARGOS’ incoming chief executive John Walden is a little known figure on this side of the Atlantic, but his extensive multi-channel experience in the US has caught the attention of executives at Home Retail Group. Walden, 52, kicked-off his retail career in the 1990s as chief operating officer of online supermarket pioneer Peabody before joining [...]
