HSBC braces for $1bn US penalty July 11, 2012 BANKING giant HSBC plans to “acknowledge and apologise” for failing to spot and deal with money laundering within the bank during a US Senate panel hearing next week, according to an internal memo sent by its chief executive. “It is right that we are held accountable and that we take responsibility for fixing what went [...]
Barclays’ Del Missier to face MPs alongside regulators July 11, 2012 FORMER Barclays operations chief Jerry del Missier will appear in front of the Treasury select committee on Monday afternoon, it was announced yesterday. He quit the firm last Monday after just 11 days in the job, having taken responsibility for his role in the Libor-fixing scandal that saw his long-term colleague Bob Diamond also resign [...]
ICAP reassures over impact of Libor scandal July 11, 2012 INTERDEALER broker ICAP will bring its cost-cutting programme forward in a bid to shore up its profits, the firm said yesterday. In an attempt to placate shareholders ICAP said it will aim to cut £50m of annual costs by March 2013, rather than March 2014 as previously announced. Around a hundred staff have already left [...]
Growth slowing at Burberry July 11, 2012 SHARES IN BURBERRY fell more than seven per cent yesterday after the luxury fashion group blamed a tougher economic environment and a shift in US wholesale distribution for a slowdown in first quarter sales. The 156-year-old British brand, best known for its signature check designs, said revenue rose 11 per cent to £408m in the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | SHOULD THE SLOWDOWN IN BURBERRY’S SALES BE A CAUSE FOR CONCERN? July 11, 2012 BETHANY HOCKING INVESTEC Burberry is flagging a “more challenging external environment” and we expect the shares to suffer due to this comment and the small miss. We note, however, that full year guidance appears unchanged and the first quarter is Burberry’s smallest quarter. This year is also against the toughest comparatives (comparatives progressively weaken through [...]
Thorntons treated to rise in quarterly sales July 11, 2012 THORNTONS reported a rise in fourth quarter sales yesterday as it cashed in on demand for all-things British with its “Best of British” range of London bus and Union Jack-themed chocolates. The confectionary retailer, which is cutting 180 stores to save costs, said total sales for the three months to the end of June were [...]
Anna Ford to step down from Sainsbury’s board July 11, 2012 Former BBC newsreader Anna Ford is to step down as a non-executive director at Sainsbury’s after six years in the role, the supermarket said at its annual general meeting yesterday. Ford joined Sainsbury’s in 2006 and headed the retailer’s corporate social responsibility committee. She will step down in December.
Tesco’s Higginson to join Poundland as chairman July 11, 2012 Poundland, the discount chain, has hired Tesco executive Andrew Higginson as chairman. Higginson, who was group finance and strategy director at Tesco for 11 years before taking on the role of head of retailing services officially retires from the grocer in september. He was also appointed chairman of N Brown, the catalogue retailer, last week.
Vodafone’s pay deal opposed by adviser Pirc July 11, 2012 VODAFONE was delivered a blow yesterday when investor advisory body Pirc urged shareholders to vote against the telco’s remuneration report. But the telecoms giant could still escape the so-called shareholder spring which has scalped some of Britain’s top companies, as the ABI and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) both supported Vodafone’s pay deal. Looking ahead to [...]
Hays sees UK fees plunge as job cuts in banking sector hit July 11, 2012 RECRUITER Hays yesterday said its quarterly net fees rose just two per cent in its fourth quarter as fears over the global economy hit clients. The rise was at the bottom end of analyst expectations. Net fees in Britain and Ireland plunged nine per cent due largely to the number of job cuts in the [...]
