L&G to battle buyout group for Cofunds November 13, 2011 LEGAL & General and private equity house Bridgepoint are set to battle it out for control of investor supermarket Cofunds. The insurer, which is the largest shareholder with a 25 per cent stake, has expressed its interest to Cofunds and Mark Gregory, the executive director of savings at L&G, recently approached Cofunds chairman Charlie Eppinger [...]
Phone hacking casts a shadow over the UK media landscape November 13, 2011 OVER half of the people in the UK say the phone hacking scandal has reduced their level of trust in the UK’s media, according to a survey commissioned by broadcaster PBS. The level of mistrust rises further still when asked about newspapers specifically, with 58 per cent of people saying the scandal had tainted their [...]
Inheritance issues stoke family feuds November 13, 2011 FOUR in 10 wealthy Britons do not trust their children to protect their inheritance, according to a report published this morning. And the higher an individual’s wealth, the more likely they are to cut people out of their will. Barclays Wealth has estimated that five per cent of those with disposable wealth between £1m to [...]
US-Pacific trade pact falters November 13, 2011 BARACK Obama, the US President, announced plans for an ambitious cross-Pacific free trade pact from his home state of Hawaii yesterday, yet behind closed doors disputes threaten to scupper any agreement. In a private discussion with Chinese President Hu Jintao over the weekend, Obama raised the ongoing battle between the countries over China’s weighing down [...]
London’s business growth slows to a 14 month low November 13, 2011 GROWTH in London’s business activity has plummeted to near-stagnation, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Lloyds TSB and Markit. The index fell from a reading of 54.4 in September to a 14-month low of 50.4 last month, the survey showed. Scores of above 50 indicate some economic expansion. “Behind the overall slowdown [...]
Fresh red tape hindering job creation in UK November 13, 2011 PRIVATE sector firms are still looking to boost employment over the next year, yet fresh regulation threatens to thwart the creation of temporary jobs and the government’s migration cap is causing difficulties for employers. “Firms are finding the [work permit migration] cap difficult to navigate,” states a report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) [...]
ECONOMIC WOES GIVE BIRTH TO GOLD BUGS November 13, 2011 ECONOMIC troubles are prompting more investors to turn to gold, says BullionVault, which today reports a 129 per cent growth in volume of its online exchange to £1.57bn, in the 12 months to 31 October. “Savers rarely regret the decision to steer clear of governments which address economic problems by printing money,” said CEO Paul [...]
Olympus ex-director rallies support for axed Woodford November 13, 2011 A FORMER executive at Olympus has piled more pressure on to the board of the scandal-hit company by calling for the return of its ousted president and chief executive. Koji Miyata has launched a campaign for the re-instatement of Michael Woodford (pictured), who was fired from the group after questioning a series of controversial payments [...]
Calls to attach strings to central banks’ liquidity November 13, 2011 CENTRAL banks risk introducing moral hazard by providing liquidity to banks unconditionally, according to a report out last night from the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), a part of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The European Central Bank (ECB), now led by Mario Draghi (pictured right) has been a major provider of [...]
City business map re-drawn November 13, 2011 THE traditional areas where business sectors have operated for decades are changing as companies hunt for affordable and convenient office space, according to new research published today. While the City has always been the hub for banks and insurance it is also becoming a magnet for IT firms and the changing makeup of the area [...]
