BoE official: up capital buffers July 10, 2012 BANKS should be given breathing space from the onslaught of new regulation in return for drastically increasing their levels of core capital, a key Bank of England policymaker said last night. Speaking in a personal capacity, Robert Jenkins floated the idea of a freeze on new banking regulations and a reassessment of the existing rulebook [...]
RBS reveals its refund plans July 10, 2012 THE ROYAL Bank of Scotland said yesterday that it will refund all charges incurred by its customers during the IT glitches that have left many account holders unable to access their cash over the past few weeks. RBS also said it would reimburse customers of other banks who were hit as part of the crisis, [...]
M&S shakes up management as sales slump July 10, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER announced a raft of management changes yesterday and confirmed that its head of general merchandise Kate Bostock is to leave, as the retail giant revealed its worst quarterly sales figures in years. The company said Bostock will be leaving by mutual consent on 1 October and will be succeed by John Dixon, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT HAS SPARKED MARKS & SPENCER’S POOR TRADING PERFORMANCE? July 10, 2012 BETHANY HOCKING INVESTEC The ongoing outperformance of food is making M&S a structurally lower gross margin business, with food gross margin around 20 basis points lower than of clothing. Clothing still accounts for roughly half of profits, however, so issues there are in need of a solution and the management changes are thus positive, but [...]
Rajoy’s party must cut more to get bailout July 10, 2012 SPAIN will have to implement further austerity measures to get the bailout it wants, it emerged yesterday evening, following decisions made at a Eurogroup meeting that ran through the previous night. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will have to produce a two-year plan of meaningful fiscal reform by the end of July in order to receive [...]
Spain’s ruling politicians call 24 witnesses to testify over Bankia July 10, 2012 SPAIN’S ruling People’s Party has asked 24 politicians and former Bankia executives including ex-chairman Rodrigo Rato to appear before parliament this month to explain problems leading up to the troubled lender’s state rescue. Bankia is at the heart of a crisis that could push Spain to ask for a bailout. It has asked for a [...]
Bank of Cyprus boss resigns over euro crisis July 10, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Cyprus’s largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, resigned yesterday, citing a lack of coordination in dealing with Europe’s banking crisis. Andreas Eliades was chief executive officer for eight years and instrumental in leading the bank’s foray into Greece, where the lender is now heavily exposed to its debt mountain. He said he [...]
RIM faces angry shareholders at tense meeting July 10, 2012 BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion (RIM) executives were grilled by angry shareholders yesterday at the troubled firm’s annual meeting. Chief executive Thorsten Heins and the Canadian firm’s board were quizzed about the delayed arrival of the next generation of BlackBerry smartphones, while the competency of Heins and the board was called into question. One shareholder [...]
BBC iPlayer topples Marks & Spencer as digital brands dominate UK’s top three July 10, 2012 The latest YouGov BrandIndex bi-annual league table reveals that Amazon, Google and BBC iPlayer have managed to beat 850-plus brands to become the most highly-rated brands in the UK. The 2012 bi-annual league table, compiled using the Index score (a composite of six key image attributes – general impression, value, quality, satisfaction, recommendation and corporate [...]
CITY VIEWS | CAN THE TROUBLED HANDSET MAKER TURN ITSELF AROUND? July 10, 2012 JEFF KEATING MERCHANT SECURITIES People are getting more accustomed to iPhones – I use one but I’ve got a BlackBerry for work, which the office supplies. I don’t find it very user-friendly. BlackBerry is embedded in the City’s infrastructure, but it’s not impossible that will change, what with the pace of technology. HELIOS MOODY HM [...]
