Boost for employment as more firms get back to full strength December 16, 2012 MORE FIRMS than at any time in the past three years are back to pre-recession hiring practices, according to a survey out this morning. Sixty-one per cent of firms told a survey from the Confederation of British Industry and KPMG that they were hiring in a way that would have been normal before the onset [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 16, 2012 Ashcourt Rowan Emily Morris has been appointed group head of marketing at the wealth management company. She has held a number of senior marketing roles in similar firms, and was marketing director at Rathbone Brothers for six years. Morris has additionally worked for Barclays Wealth. Peverel Group The property services group has appointed Nigel Howell [...]
Best of the Brokers December 16, 2012 ANGLO AMERICAN UBS has cut the miner from “buy” to “neutral”, and reduced its target price from 2150p to 1860p, with “heightened South Africa risk” one of the causes for a downgrade. WM MORRISON Supermarket Morrisons was downgraded by Deutsche Bank to “hold”, with a target price cut to 258p from 320p, causing the firm [...]
Inflation unlikely to give festive cheer in thin week for corporates December 16, 2012 INFLATION figures are unlikely to give UK households much festive cheer tomorrow, with forecasts of a slight rise in November. “Data are expected to show that consumer price inflation edged up further to 2.8 per cent in November after jumping to 2.7 per cent in October from a 34-month low of 2.2 per cent in [...]
No time off for traders as fiscal cliff is looming December 16, 2012 THE last two weeks of December are traditionally quiet for stocks, but traders accustomed to a bit of time off are staying close to their mobile devices, thanks to the “fiscal cliff”. Last-minute negotiations in Washington on the so-called fiscal cliff – nearly $600bn of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in [...]
East India Company: The original City firm judged too big for failure December 16, 2012 FOR an institution that’s been defunct for over 150 years, the East India Company still evokes powerful reactions. This year in India, a move to liberalise the retail sector to allow investment by foreign multinationals was greeted with protests: “this is the return of the East India Company”. Meanwhile in the UK, Sanjiv Mehta has [...]
The government achieved the best deal possible on Eurozone banking union December 16, 2012 POLITICIANS are the first to be blamed when things go wrong, so it is important that they also receive credit when they get something right. Last week’s developments on the European banking union are a case in point. Under the circumstances, the UK government secured the best deal possible at the summit in Brussels. The [...]
Savers musn’t be harmed by rules designed to help December 16, 2012 IN JUST a few weeks, the UK will see sweeping changes to financial services regulation. The retail distribution review (RDR) comes into force under the stewardship of the new Financial Conduct Authority. By requiring financial advisers to disclose transparently the fees savers pay for advice, RDR aims to help rebuild shattered trust in the financial [...]
As more Christmas shoppers choose to buy online, can the British high street survive? December 16, 2012 YES Rob Myers Regardless of how the internet evolves, you can’t try on a pair of the latest shoes or feel the quality of a gift for a loved one. Our research has shown that, far from killing the high street, the internet is lending itself as a valuable tool in the retailer’s armoury. The [...]
Rapid responses December 16, 2012 Interest protection [Re: European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services, Thursday] A banking union in the Eurozone makes a lot of sense. The very basic monetary union Europe had before has shown its limits under pressure. As the crisis heated up, European banks were encouraged to restrict cross-border lending and become [...]