Metro hails retail recovery August 2, 2010 METRO, the world’s fourth biggest retailer, lifted its investment budget amid growing confidence about economic recovery, as cost cutting helped it to meet quarterly earnings forecasts despite sluggish sales. The German group, which runs cash and carries, supermarkets, electrical goods and department stores, said on Monday it was lifting its capital spending budget for this [...]
Dramatic recovery for Britain’s banks August 1, 2010 BANKS will come under renewed pressure to extend credit to small businesses this week as the UK’s five largest lenders reveal combined pre-tax profits of nearly £12bn. With the stronger players returning to pre-financial crisis levels of success, a fresh row is brewing between politicians – who are demanding more finance for enterprises – and [...]
Chris Huhne backs nuclear power August 1, 2010 CHRIS Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, performed a remarkable volte-face yesterday by declaring that nuclear power stations were “part of the future”. Huhne, a one-time avowed nuclear sceptic, said: “I believe nuclear investors will come forward and nuclear will play its part in the energy needs of the future.” Yesterday, Huhne said he had [...]
Bosses’ pay: the long and short of it August 1, 2010 THERE have been far too many cases of rewards for failure in corporate Britain in recent years. It must become easier and cheaper to sack bosses who fail to deliver. There are tentative signs, however, that shareholders and boards are becoming better at controlling CEOs. It is also vital that successful bosses should be rewarded [...]
UBS signs Broadgate deal August 1, 2010 UBS HAS ended months of negotiations by signing off on a deal with property group British Land and private equity firm Blackstone to construct a towering new building to house its investment bankers on the Broadgate Estate. The deal comes after the parties said in May that they had agreed in principle to knock down [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 1, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph INVESTORS DEMAND ETHICS AUDIT New rules should be introduced that would increase the cost of capital for companies with controversial environmental and human rights records, according to one of Britain’s largest investors. Steve Waygood, chief of sustainability research at Aviva Investors, said: “If companies were forced to publish long-term data [...]
14,000 use Boris’ bikes August 1, 2010 More than 14,000 journeys were made using London’s new cycle network over its first weekend. Over 21,000 members have now signed up to join the Mayor’s flagship cycle hire scheme, up by over 9,000 since it launched last Friday. Boris Johnson said: “Just three days into our cycle hire scheme we’re seeing Londoners embracing the [...]
Allied Irish to slash 2,000 jobs August 1, 2010 Job cuts at struggling bank Allied Irish could be as high as 2,000 – a staggering 20 per cent of its Irish workforce. The bank, which will this week announce its biggest ever loss, declined to comment on the cuts. It is expected to wait until it has secured EU approval for a major restructuring [...]
BP puts faith in static kill to plug leak August 1, 2010 BELEAGUERED oil giant BP will begin the process, known as a “static kill”, to permanently plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico as soon as this evening, as the US backlash against the company continues. The operation, which involves the pumping of mud into the well, will force the oil back into the [...]
Gulf ban hits 1m Blackberries August 1, 2010 OVER a million BlackBerry users face being cut off from key services in Saudi Arabia and the UAE after authorities stepped up demands on maker Research In Motion for access to encrypted messages sent on the smartphone. BlackBerry’s Messenger application has spread rapidly in the Gulf Arab region but because the data is encrypted and [...]
