CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 29, 2011 Glendevon King Asset Management The independent fixed income boutique has appointed Richard Kendall as chief executive with immediate effect, following a strategic review of the business. Kendall will be responsible for leading the new management team through the next phase of growth, and shifting the firm’s focus towards institutional investors, private banks and ultra high [...]
Brits sacrifice holidays, says Thomas Cook March 29, 2011 Thomas Cook, Europe’s second biggest travel firm, said UK bookings had slowed as cash-strapped Britons sacrifice their annual two weeks in the sun. “Cumulative summer bookings remain ahead in most markets, although the rate of booking intake has slowed noticeably in the UK as a result of continued economic uncertainty,” the company said yesterday. Thomas [...]
FirstGroup buys 955 new buses March 29, 2011 FirstGroup, the UK’s largest bus and rail operator, yesterday said it was ordering £160m of new vehicles over the next two years. The order for 955 vehicles will include 200 buses earmarked to transport people to and from the London 2012 Olympic Games. FirstGroup said 40 hybrid buses, part funded by the government’s Green Bus [...]
Taxpayers’ group slams rail plans March 29, 2011 THE government’s plans for a new high speed rail line will not deliver the capacity needed despite costing £30bn, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) said yesterday. The government has justified the hefty price tag by saying the project will boost seats on trains and ease overcrowding as demand for long-distance rail travel increases, but the TPA [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHY HAVE HOLIDAY BOOKINGS SLUMPED? March 29, 2011 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO The company has announced that the recent political unrest in north Africa cost around £20m in the second-quarter, following the cancellation of 150,000 bookings. And the group cited continued concerns over the UK economy as another factor behind slower summer booking rates. MARK BRUMBY | LANGTON CAPITAL Trading has [...]
First drop in real incomes for 20 years March 29, 2011 DISPOSABLE income, allowing for inflation, fell for the first time since 1981 last year. Real household income dropped by 0.8 per cent over 2010, after a 0.5 per cent fall in the final three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday. The figures reveal the squeeze on living standards that [...]
Slow rise in mortgage lending March 29, 2011 MORTGAGE lending rose by £1.2bn last month, as the number of approvals edged up to 46,967, the Bank of England revealed yesterday. The number of mortgage approvals was up 1.2 per cent compared to the previous six month average. “The news is hardly encouraging,” responded Nida Ali of the Ernst and Young Item Club, “given [...]
Inflation across OECD member states hits new 27-month high of 2.4 per cent March 29, 2011 CONSUMER prices across member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rose by 2.4 per cent in February compared with 2.2 per cent in January — the highest rate since October 2008. This increase was driven by food and energy inflation which reached three per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively. Excluding [...]
International trade faces threat from protectionism March 29, 2011 GLOBALISATION is at risk from increasing political intervention provoked by the global recession, a senior global economist said yesterday. “The forces of protectionism are probably enough to halt the recent acceleration of global trade,” said UBS’s chief worldwide economist, Paul Donovan. Global trade soared from a 12.5 per cent share of GDP in 1987 to [...]
Weale warns Bank of England’s forecasts are too optimistic March 29, 2011 GIVEN its recent track record of missing the inflation target, the Bank of England should take inflation threats more seriously, Bank policymaker Martin Weale said yesterday. Weale defended his vote for increasing interest rates by 0.25 per cent. “Continuing above-target inflation could lead to inflationary expectations becoming entrenched,” Weale told a meeting in London. Weale [...]
