Profits surge at Hargreaves as founder leaves September 5, 2012 HARGREAVES Lansdown founder Peter Hargreaves yesterday criticised big consumer companies for failing to treat customers as individuals. Hailing a “sparkling” set of full year results for the firm, he said clients’ trust in the firm had boosted its performance, a factor he said was all too readily neglected by other consumer and financial firms with [...]
Direct Line to cut 900 jobs ahead of IPO September 5, 2012 DIRECT Line Group yesterday announced plans to sack 891 workers in the “first phase” of a substantial cost-cutting programme ahead of the insurance group’s London float, expected next month. Around 500 sales staff will go with the closure of a call centre in Stockton-on-Tees, near Middlesbrough, with the work transferred elsewhere in the UK. Several hundred [...]
Top MP hits out at Barclays tax dodge claims September 5, 2012 BARCLAYS’ evidence to the Treasury Select Committee of MPs on tax avoidance measures directly contradicts that given by the chancellor, the committee’s influential chairman Andrew Tyrie declared today, demanding an explanation from the bank. HM Revenue and Customs retrospectively clamped down on the bank in February after it reduced its tax bill by roughly £300m [...]
City job vacancies edge up yet market remains down on 2011 September 5, 2012 THE CITY jobs market surprisingly picked up in August as the Olympic Games failed to dent activity in the Square Mile, a top recruiter said this morning. Yet Morgan McKinley, which published the research, also warned that financial sector employment prospects remain worse than at this time last year. There was a five per cent lift in [...]
EC takes next step in campaign to make Libor-fixing a crime September 5, 2012 TOP REGULATOR Michel Barnier yesterday launched a consultation on the future of Libor and other similar key lending rates as he seeks to clamp down on financial manipulation across the EU. The European Commission (EC) wants to make rate-rigging a crime, alongside insider dealing and market manipulation – and that could mean jail terms for [...]
Massenet to chair British Fashion Council September 5, 2012 NET-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet has been appointed to chair the British Fashion Council (BFC), replacing Harold Tillman, who has held the position since 2008. Massenet sold a stake in Net-a-Porter to Swiss luxury group Richemont earlier this year.
Battersea plans move closer as owners move in September 5, 2012 THE NEW Malaysian owners of Battersea Power Station revealed yesterday that work on the £8bn scheme is set to get under way this year after completing the purchase of the historic site. SP Setia, Sime Darby and the country’s Employees’ Pension Fund – officially took ownership of the site yesterday after paying £400m to buy [...]
City Views | What do you think of the reshuffle? September 5, 2012 MATTHEW ARGENT JEFFERSON YOUNG Based on public opinion and not necessarily his record I was surprised Osborne kept his job. A fresh face in the higher ranks of the government would have been good. But I would still have him over Ed Balls any day. DJAMOL ARIPOV LONDON BRAND MANAGEMENT I’m surprised about the government [...]
Double-dip for Eurozone as it slumps again September 5, 2012 THE EUROZONE economy suffered an even more severe downturn in August than at first thought, survey data from Markit revealed yesterday. The initial “flash” purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for euro area economic output in August was 46.6, marginally up on July’s 46.5 – but yesterday’s figure was 46.3. Any figure below 50 indicates contraction. Activity [...]
Ireland sees shop sales surge as crisis-hit Spain suffers fall September 5, 2012 RETAIL trade slipped in the Eurozone in July, down from a slight increase in June, official Eurostat data revealed yesterday. The total volume of retail trade fell 0.2 per cent across the 17 euro area countries, having increased by 0.1 per cent in June. Though this overall picture was fairly flat, it hid a 0.9 [...]
