Employers wringing more from staff as US jobless claims surge November 5, 2010 New US claims for jobless aid rose last week and a strong rebound in productivity in the third quarter showed employers wringing more output from current workers rather than hiring. US business productivity rose at a stronger-than-expected 1.9 per cent annual rate, the Labour Department said yesterday, leading to a surprise dip in unit labour [...]
FASHION NEWS IN BRIEF November 5, 2010 TIFFANY COMES TO THE WHARF Canary Wharf workers are in for a treat, with the opening of a Tiffany & Co. boutique at Cabot Place. Set to open on 12 Nov, the store – London’s ninth – will be in the Cabot Place East mall and occupy 2,000 square feet. To celebrate, Tiffany will be [...]
MAN shares boosted by a stronger AHL November 4, 2010 MAN Group saw client assets rebound more strongly than expected, boosting its shares and raising the prospect that the world’s largest listed hedge fund company can finally start winning back investors. Man – which has just bought smaller rival GLG with its $25bn (£15.4 bn) of assets to become less reliant on computer-driven funds — [...]
Man Group November 4, 2010 Oh Man. The world’s largest listed hedge fund group has gone through the wringer over the past few months with clients pulling money out of its funds faster than it can attract new money in. This has been the pattern not just for one quarter, but for eight on the trot. What’s never a good [...]
GDP surprise keeps MPC on hold for now November 4, 2010 THE Bank of England yesterday voted to hold fire on further quantitative easing (QE) and kept interest rates on hold at 0.5 per cent, in a move that was widely expected following the strong GDP data released last week. Prior to the publication of third-quarter GDP, which showed the economy growing at twice the rate [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS:?WILL THE MPC EXPAND QUANTITATIVE EASING? November 4, 2010 PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC The MPC is nervous about high inflation and recent brighter news on the economy would likely have to swing sharply into reverse to prompt the committee to restart QE. ANDREW GOODWIN | ERNST & YOUNG ITEM CLUB Further QE is only likely if there are more tangible signs that the recovery [...]
Hoffman will leave Rock November 4, 2010 Northern Rock yesterday confirmed chief executive Gary Hoffman will quit the firm for NBNK Investments, the new high street banking venture established by Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Levene. Hoffman will be placed on gardening leave until 30 April, until which point he will receive his full £700,000 a year salary, car and petrol allowance [...]
OFT claims new banks face hurdles to high street success November 4, 2010 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday that smaller retail banks face significant challenges when trying to entice customers away from the high street giants. Customers are reluctant to switch banks and remain loyal to existing brands, the watchdog said in a research paper published yesterday. Smaller banks also complained of difficulties in getting [...]
CWC sees sales rise as it battles through choppy economic waters November 4, 2010 Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) reported a two per cent rise in first-half sales in what it said was a mixed economic environment, and said its full-year expectations were unchanged. CWC, which trades in a number of overseas territories including the Caribbean, the Maldives and Panama, said a strong performance in Macao and Monaco & [...]
Market cools as property prices tumble November 4, 2010 AVERAGE property prices have fallen 1.2 per cent in the last three months, according to the latest Halifax house price index. The closely watched index from the Lloyds Banking Group-owned lender showed house prices rose 1.8 per cent in October which helped to partially reverse the 3.7 per cent decline from the previous month. But [...]
