Blackstone eyes Iceland bid October 9, 2011 Private equity firm Blackstone has held talks with Malcolm Walker over a bid of up to £1.5bn for supermarket Iceland, it was reported yesterday. The US firm, which could not be reached for comment, is believed to have had conversations with Iceland’s chief executive, who has a 23 per cent stake. The remainder is being [...]
German airports face strikes October 9, 2011 Air passengers in Germany may face delays this week due to separate actions by ground handling staff and possibly by air traffic controllers. At 10 German airports, including major hubs Frankfurt and Munich, several thousand ground handling staff will hold meetings on Monday afternoon to discuss European Commission plans to boost competition among ground handling [...]
ROAD BLOCK AGAINST HEALTH REFORMS October 9, 2011 Block the Bridge, a pro-NHS demonstration against the Coalition’s Health and Social Care Bill organised by UK Uncut, took place on Westminster Bridge yesterday. The House of Lords will debate the health reforms – which have prompted a debate about commercialisation within the NHS – tomorrow. Health secretary Andrew Lansley has said he would never [...]
Finance heads cut spend as growth stalls October 9, 2011 THE MAJORITY of finance chiefs in UK companies plan to cut investment and hiring over the next year as they batten down the hatches and prepare for another recession, a new report today shows. More than 40 per cent of CFOs believe the UK economy will start to contract again soon, and are choosing defensive [...]
City jobs down as crisis hits… October 9, 2011 FINANCIAL services vacancies are plummeting as economic turmoil hits hiring intentions, according to the Morgan McKinley London employment monitor. There were 4095 new jobs available in September, down 19 per cent on the same month last year, the study found, and down six per cent compared with August. Fewer professionals are entering the market, too. [...]
… but total London hiring rises as new orders go up October 9, 2011 PRIVATE sector growth is accelerating in London, with the Lloyds TSB London business activity index showing new business inflows rising. The index rose from 53.7 in August to 54.4 in September, though it remains lower than the 59.5 seen in July. Any number above 50 indicates expansion. A small rise in employment was also recorded [...]
Lloyds slashes UK growth forecast as Eurozone woes hit export predictions October 9, 2011 DISLOCATION in the financial markets and a slowing global expansion are hitting the UK hard and the risk of a recession is rising, said Lloyds Capital Markets in its quarterly report. The bank has lowered its GDP growth forecasts from 1.3 per cent to 1.0 per cent for 2011 and from 2.3 per cent to [...]
TUC: Low paid are worst hurt by recession and cuts October 9, 2011 WORKERS in the lowest-income sectors are among the worst hit by rising unemployment over the last three years, according to research out today from the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Forty-one per cent of job losses came in sales and elementary service and admin roles – categories which make up less than 20 per cent of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 9, 2011 Virgin Money The banking division of the Virgin Group has appointed Sir David Clementi to the Virgin Money board as chairman to succeed the late Sir Brian Pitman. Clementi was chairman of Prudential from 2002 to 2008 and deputy governor and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England from 1997 [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 9, 2011 SUPERGROUP Singer CM Equity Research slashed its price on SuperGroup after a difficult week. It cut the price 35 per cent to 970p after the clothing firm reported extra warehousing costs and a sales shortfall. Singer retained the “buy” rating but said: “When a business is expanding at such a rapid rate one would expect [...]
