Bleak outlook for UK pensions July 31, 2011 PRIVATE sector workers are facing a bleak retirement under current UK schemes, with up to 14m private sector workers facing the prospect of receiving a pension much smaller than the generation above them, a report into the sector will say today. The Workplace Retirement Income Commission (Wric) says that the results of its call for [...]
Demand for new staff down in July July 31, 2011 DEMAND for new staff dropped in July, with banking jobs continuing their five month decline from February’s high point, according to today’s Reed Job Index. The index fell three points from June’s figure of 125, with sectors including accountancy, financial services and customer service all contributing to the overall decline. Retail jobs, however, bucked the [...]
Regulation is hitting UK competitiveness July 31, 2011 MORE than a third of executives working in the UK’s financial services sector are worried that the increase in regulation since the financial crisis is harming the country’s competitiveness. Thirty-six per cent of senior employees said that the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) regulatory clampdown was a threat to the UK’s ability to compete on the [...]
Switzerland and Germany in tax deal July 31, 2011 Switzerland and Germany will sign a deal to regularise untaxed money stashed in secret Swiss bank accounts on 10 August. Swiss banks are likely to have to pay an up-front advance payment to the German government, which will only be reimbursed if their clients pay back-taxes they owe to the German authorities. In future, the [...]
Acromas to buy Allied Healthcare July 31, 2011 Acromas, co-owned by Charterhouse, CVC and Permira, has agreed to buy Nasdaq-listed Allied Healthcare for $175m (£107m), six months after its £124m acquisition of Nestor Healthcare. The deal will bolster Acromas’ healthcare portfolio, and stoke rumours that the owner of the AA and Saga is plotting a listing. Last week Acromas’ chief executive Andrew Goodsell [...]
Pressure for Premier Foods listing July 31, 2011 Premier Foods’ chief executive-elect Mike Clake is under pressure to consider a £300m rights issue to repair the UK’s largest food producer’s balance sheet, according to a weekend report. The Observer reported a big investor saying a rights issue should be under consideration as Premier is paying millions in interest despite recent disposals. According to [...]
GMT buys Meeting Zone video firm July 31, 2011 GMT Communications Partners, a private equity firm, has acquired the video-conferencing company, Meeting Zone, for about £38.5m from Nova Capital Management and the founders, Tim Duffy and Steve Gandy.
Man tops list of 50 biggest hedge funds July 31, 2011 MAN Investments is Europe’s leading hedge fund, topping the list of an industry that has has bounced back as a whole in 2011. Man’s hedge fund arm had assets under management (AUM) of $34.1bn (£20.9bn) as of 11 June, according to the Europe50 survey by The Hedge Fund Journal. Man’s figures were boosted by the [...]
Telecity eyes Irish rival as demand lifts July 31, 2011 DATA centre provider Telecity is in early-stage talks to buy an Irish rival as it seeks to expand its capacity. A deal for Dublin-based Data Electronics, which operates two data centres in the Irish capital, could set Telecity back around £100m. Talks are understood to be at a very preliminary stage, with no guarantee a [...]
Europe the biggest risk in trans-Atlantic gloom July 31, 2011 THE financial markets don’t know which way to look. On both sides of the Atlantic we have a debt disaster that would be a recipe for short fingernails. But despite today’s headlines, it is Europe that presents the far greater risk to the global economy. While what is happening in Washington has now descended into [...]
