PM: migrant cap won’t stop inter-firm transfers November 22, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday said that inter-company transfers would likely be excluded from government plans to cap the number of economic migrants entering the UK from outside the EU. City firms have been calling on the government to exempt transfers within companies, which they say would hinder their ability to compete internationally. Yesterday, the Prime Minister [...]
Militant era looms for Unite with election of hard-liner November 22, 2010 THE UK’s biggest union, Unite, has elected a new leader reported to have said that “there is no such thing as an irresponsible strike”. Len McCluskey, currently assistant general secretary, was elected on a 16 per cent turnout, winning 101,000 votes – nearly double that of his nearest rival. The vote, to be announced formally [...]
Osborne may water down bonus rules November 22, 2010 GEORGE Osborne has set a collision course with business secretary Vince Cable after it emerged he may water down bank bonus rules. The chancellor is on the verge of scrapping planned legislation forcing banks to disclose bonuses over £1m, according to a report in the Financial Times. Bankers have lobbied Osborne, saying London’s position as a [...]
Energy XX1 to gamble on the Gulf of Mexico November 22, 2010 JOHN Schiller, chief executive of Texas oil upstart Energy XXI, relishes his reputation for taking risks. Unconcerned by President Obama’s drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico and BP’s woes in the region – which slashed his company’s share price from $22 (£13.70) to $13 – he has ambitious expansion plans. Schiller has announced a [...]
Exxon considering petrol station sales November 22, 2010 EXXON Mobil Corp yesterday confirmed it was considering the sale of its 100 petrol stations in Scotland but declined to comment on a report it plans to sell its North Sea oil fields, worth some $2bn (£1bn). Its comments came after a press report said the North Sea disposal was on the cards. An Exxon [...]
DMGT set for higher profit November 22, 2010 DAILY MAIL and General Trust is expected to unveil a hike in full-year profits when it announces preliminary results on Thursday, thanks to a recovery in advertising revenues and strong trading at its business-to-business (b2b) division. Analysts at Numis expect the firm to book pre-tax profits up 23 per cent at £245m for 2009-10, compared [...]
Deloitte fails to convince Roland Berger to merge November 22, 2010 PLANS to merge Roland Berger Strategy Consultants with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have fallen through after the Munich-based firm rejected the advances. The two had been in advanced talks but directors at Berger overwhelmingly voted to remain independent. Talks between the two firms had progressed so far it is believed they had already decided upon a [...]
BOTTOM LINE November 22, 2010 WHEN DMGT sold the loss-making Evening Standard to Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev in January 2009, finance director Peter Williams caused a storm by saying the firm’s love affair with newspapers was all but over. It had “crossed the Rubicon,” he declared (although chairman Lord Rothermere soon made it clear that Williams had crossed the line). DMGT abandoned [...]
QUIET BOOK LAUNCH FOR BROWN ONLY FOR PROFS November 22, 2010 AFTER a long dormancy, which has seen former Prime Minister Gordon Brown make only rare appearances as an MP in the House of Commons, the troubled ex-chancellor is readying himself for a low-key book launch at the London School of Economics. The Capitalist has learned that the PM has set a date of 7 December [...]
United chief may quit with £4m pay-out November 22, 2010 THE boss of former state-owned water group United Utilities may quit later this month with a golden goodbye payout worth more than £4m, it emerged yesterday. It is understood group chief executive Philip Green could announce his resignation from the water and waste services supplier in north-west England as early as November 24. Green is thought [...]
