Ex-HBOS chair attacked by MPs and peers over bank’s collapse December 4, 2012 FORMER HBOS chairman Lord Stevenson was yesterday accused of “living in cloud cuckoo land” by a panel of MPs and peers for defending the position of the bank before it collapsed. Stevenson acknowledged the bank’s failure was “catastrophic” and admitted the firm had taken too many risks before the crash, particularly in corporate lending. Members [...]
Sir Philip’s relationships pay off as US suitors flock to star brands December 4, 2012 STRUGGLING UK retailers beware. This US interest in Sir Philip’s Topshop empire shouldn’t be read as a vote of confidence in Britain’s beleaguered high street. No – this is a vote of confidence in one man (and his family business) alone. Topshop’s meteoric rise over the past 15 years or so from identikit high street [...]
Boris calls for renegotiation of deal with EU December 4, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday called for Britain to renegotiate its relationship with the European Union, saying he wanted a new deal based solely on trade agreements that would be put to the public in a national referendum. “Boil it to down to the single market, that’s the great achievement of the European Union, I think we [...]
TfL to spend £3.8bn on road upgrade work December 4, 2012 TRANSPORT for London hopes to double spending on the capital’s roads over the next decade, it said yesterday in a 10-year business plan. A “roads task force” will set out priorities for the £3.8bn funding pot in the spring, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said yesterday. Safety for cyclists will feature prominently in the plans, [...]
Banks say new capital targets are impossible December 4, 2012 THE BANK of England yesterday called on banks to raise more capital, demanding the industry slashes pay and issues more capital instruments. But industry insiders say that is simply not possible as the market will not be able to cope with a huge new round of capital raising. The Financial Policy Committee’s minutes were published [...]
Household spending climbed in 2011 as budgets got tighter December 4, 2012 AVERAGE weekly household spending climbed to its highest ever level last year – but fell in real terms because of inflation. UK households spent an average of £483.60 a week in 2011 – around £10 a week or 2.1 per cent more than in 2010 – according to data from the Office for National Statistics. But, [...]
Sainsbury’s has top quarter for market share December 4, 2012 SAINSBURY’S has picked up market share in the last quarter, to make it the biggest winner among the overall grocery market, data revealed yesterday. According to figures from market researcher Kantar Worldpanel the supermarket’s sales rose 4.7 per cent and its share rose 0.2 points to 16.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 25 [...]
Cross-border M&A activity gets lift from handful of big deals December 4, 2012 THE VALUE of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity jumped in the third quarter, despite a plunge in the number of deals. The total value of all M&A involving UK-based firms climbed from £9.8bn in the second quarter to £16.9bn in the third quarter of 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday, also above the level seen [...]
Soaring food inflation erases effect of falling non-food prices December 4, 2012 ANNUAL food price inflation accelerated in the year to November, but a return to deflation in some non-food prices provided a counterweight to keep overall shop price inflation steady. Food was 4.6 per cent more expensive in November than it was a year before, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), an inflation rate 0.6 [...]
Marshall Wace boosts profits on fund returns December 4, 2012 LONDON-BASED hedge fund Marshall Wace yesterday posted a 20 per cent jump in pre-tax profits led by a surge in income from improved fund performance. The company, set up by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, improved profits from £39.4m to £47.3m for the year ending February 2012 with income from performance fees up ten per [...]
