WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES STRIKE GETS RETAIL TILLS RINGING This week’s strike proved a boon for Britain’s battered high streets, with official figures recording a 38 per cent increase in shopper numbers on Wednesday as public sector employees and parents of school-age children hit the stores. The fillip to trade was welcomed as the equivalent of “an [...]
Finmeccanica chair resigns December 1, 2011 Italian defence group Finmeccanica said it had appointed its chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi, as chairman after Pier Francesco Guarguaglini resigned from the position amid a growing corruption probe. Guarguaglini, who had been in the job since 2002, had previously resisted calls to step down from the helm of the loss-making company, Italy’s second-biggest industrial group [...]
AT&T hits back at regulator December 1, 2011 AT&T has accused the US communications regulator of being one-sided and cherry-picking facts yesterday after the watchdog published a stinging rebuke of the plan to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom. The scathing Federal Communications Commission staff report, released earlier this week, said AT&T’s $39bn (£25bn) proposal to purchase T-Mobile would lead to higher prices [...]
US factories defy slump in world output December 1, 2011 MANUFACTURING production plummeted in the Eurozone, UK and China in November, Markit’s purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) showed yesterday, yet US industry kept expanding. Eurozone manufacturing PMI hit a 28-month low, with job losses in all 17 members of the currency bloc except Germany and Austria. PMI fell to 46.4 from 47.1 in October. Any figure [...]
Thomson Reuters to replace chief exec in latest shake-up December 1, 2011 TOM Glocer, the chief executive of media group Thomson Reuters, will step down at the start of January, the company said yesterday. Glocer will be replaced by the group’s chief operating officer James Smith in the latest of several management reshuffles designed to raise the group’s performance after its crucial Markets business, its largest division, [...]
US senators attack MF Global watchdog for its poor policing December 1, 2011 US SENATORS laid into the chairman of one of the key regulators of collapsed brokerage MF Global yesterday, attacking its apparently poor policing of the firm’s risky behaviour and accounting. Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was one of the first regulators called to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee about MF [...]
UBS risk chief goes 11 weeks after scandal December 1, 2011 SERGIO Ermotti has swiftly made his mark as the new UBS chief executive by ousting the chief risk officer barely 11 months after she took up the post. Maureen Miskovic left the bank abruptly yesterday, 11 weeks after she was embarrassed by the discovery of $2bn (£1.27bn) of “rogue” trades. Ermotti, who was confirmed as [...]
Ermotti shows the Swiss his inner steel December 1, 2011 WE knew Sergio Ermotti was a smooth operator, but now we have an early sight of the steeliness that has taken him to the top of UBS. In dumping Maureen Miskovic yesterday, two weeks after cutting another 400 jobs, Ermotti showed his determination to restore the reputation of UBS. The new boss will have to [...]
Hardy up for sale over Thai flood losses December 1, 2011 DEVASTATING floods sweeping Thailand caused Lloyd’s insurance group Hardy Underwriting far worse than expected losses, eating into its capital and causing the group to put itself up for sale. Hardy has been hammered by international catastrophes this year and said that the Thai floods would cause it £10m to £25m of losses on top of [...]
Omega investors angered by Byrne’s plans to lapse offer December 1, 2011 INVESTORS in Omega Insurance including Aviva, Toscafund, Crystal Amber and founder shareholder John Robinson, are up in arms over plans by tycoon Mark Byrne to allow his tender offer for 25 per cent of shares in the group to lapse even though it received more than the minimal number of acceptances. Robinson, speaking to City [...]
