Lloyds finance boss jumps ship to Friends Life September 19, 2011 Tim Tookey has decided to quit the part-nationalised British bank to join insurer Friends Life, the companies said, continuing a series of high-profile management departures in the wake of the arrival of new Lloyds’ chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio earlier this year. Lloyds said Tookey would remain with the company until the end of February next [...]
Ocado sales growth slows in third quarter September 19, 2011 British online grocer Ocado saw a slowdown in sales growth in its fiscal third quarter and said full-year profit margins were likely to rise a less than expected as it invests in improving customer service. Ocado, which mostly sells the products of upmarket grocer Waitrose, said on Monday gross sales rose 16.9 per cent to [...]
We need a new capitalist revolution: A young writer presents his provocative manifesto for free markets September 19, 2011 MORE people have climbed out of poverty in the past 50 years than did so in the 500 years before that. Life expectancies across the world have doubled in the last one hundred years. The global poverty rate has fallen from 25 per cent in 2005 to 12 per cent today. By 2015, it will [...]
Britain is not a safe haven in Osborne’s hands September 19, 2011 The shadow chancellor calls for a change in the UK’s course THE global economy has entered a dangerous new phase. It’s now more vital than ever that countries have credible economic plans to ensure economic growth and get deficits down. I believe there are three tests for a credible economic plan. First, there has to [...]
Four simple policies to support the City September 19, 2011 IT’S the start of party conference season, and new policy ideas have already begun to pour out. As politicians from every side offer their proposals, here are four simple things the government should do to support the City. Europe is a major issue facing us as we move forward. With 90 per cent of regulation [...]
RAPID RESPONSES September 19, 2011 ETFs not so rogue Yesterday, UBS said its alleged rogue trader was using futures to trade equity indices. One top fund manager says: So this had nothing to do with exchange-traded funds (ETF), save that UBS claims he falsified trades in them. The witch hunt of ETFs led by Terry Smith, without first ascertaining the [...]
Bank: QE kept UK economy going September 18, 2011 THE BANK of England will this morning talk up the success of its original quantitative easing programme, in a move which will be interpreted as increasing the chances of further asset buying to boost the economy. The Bank’s £200bn asset-purchases made in 2009 “may have raised the level of real GDP by 1.5 per cent [...]
UBS rogue costs rise to $2.3bn September 18, 2011 UBS was forced to admit yesterday that it has lost $300m (£190m) more from the actions of a “rogue” trader than it previously thought. The revision sees the cost of the incident swell to $2.3bn, equivalent to more than 90 per cent of the maximum annual cost-savings the bank had hoped to make by laying [...]
Greece braces for more cuts September 18, 2011 GREECE was bracing itself yesterday as the government pledged to take tough action to avoid default following an emergency cabinet meeting. Prime Minister George Papandreou cancelled a visit to the US to hold the meeting, a day before EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors hold a conference call with finance minister Evangelos Venizelos to hear [...]
Poverty of debate is holding us back September 18, 2011 IT is obvious that companies need to work harder to make sure that all their employees deliver the goods. This must apply to everybody, including CEOs, who are hired by shareholders to maximise their value. They should be paid a lot if they do well and fired without massive payoffs if they fail. It should [...]
