M&S margins in squeeze July 10, 2011 MARKS & SPENCER gives a first quarter trading update this week, with analysts predicting pressure on margins after the retailer launched its earliest ever summer sale. Chief executive Marc Bolland is overhauling the retailer with a plan aimed at improving web sales and bringing in hundreds of new food lines. Keith Bowman at Hargreaves Lansdown [...]
John Lewis blueprint for public sector July 10, 2011 DAVID Cameron is set to introduce plans for a string of mutuals in the image of John Lewis, in a move he hopes will shake up the public sector and hand “choice and control” to communities. The mutuals are planned to cover all aspects of the public sector including education, healthcare, council services and private [...]
Liabilities to add billions to UK debt July 10, 2011 GOVERNMENT debt will be officially listed as totalling trillions rather than billions of pounds by the Treasury this week. Future liabilities from public sector pensions and projects agreed under private finance initiatives (PFI) will be included in the UK’s debt figures, released by the department. The government has been under pressure to produce a comprehensive [...]
Fewer jobhunters in City July 10, 2011 APPLICANTS for City jobs dropped by a fifth in the past year as bankers chose to stick with their current roles, new research today shows. The number of qualified applicants for every new job in the City fell 20 per cent in the three months to June to 1.68, from 2.13 in the same quarter [...]
Ex-Ikos analyst accused of stealing files July 10, 2011 A CYPRUS court has heard how a financial analyst allegedly stole secrets from hedge fund tycoon Elena Ambrosiadou, as the fall-out from her messy divorce with estranged husband Martin Coward took a fresh turn. Vincent Pfister, a former employee at Ambrosiadou’s $2.5bn (£1.5bn) Ikos hedge fund, is alleged to have stolen vital computer codes key [...]
Key financial players led by new ECB boss July 10, 2011 THE NEW president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, leads a trio of regulators that rank amongst the most important figures in European financial markets, according to a new list published today. The ranking of the 100 most influential people in European financial markets, published today by Financial News, comes as rulemakers tighten up [...]
Stress tests: one step forward, two steps back July 10, 2011 BANKS are back in focus again – and they are not very happy about it. Just after rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said it may downgrade a number of Italian banks, Moody’s cut Portuguese sovereign debt to junk status. Contagion is once again a real worry. Jean Claude Trichet, the president of the European [...]
Samsonite increases Hong Kong IPO by $46m to meet demand for stock July 10, 2011 SAMSONITE International, the world’s largest luggage maker, increased its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) by $46m (£28.6m) to nearly $1.3bn, after underwriters exercised an option to sell additional shares to meet demand for the stock. The company said late yesterday 24.66m shares were sold by its two largest shareholders at the IPO price of [...]
Water cooler firm lists on London’s AIM July 10, 2011 Shares in water cooler firm Waterlogic will begin trading for the first time today, as it completes a listing on London’s alternative investment market (AIM). The company, which supplies purifying water dispensers to offices, hotels and gyms, raised £41m to fund acquisitions in an initial public offering. The book for shares in the firm was [...]
Sports Direct staff set for bumper bonus July 10, 2011 Sports Direct staff look set for a bumper bonus when the 400-store chain announces its results on Thursday. Around 2,000 full-time staff would collect the second windfall from the bonus scheme if the firm reaches it £205m profit target. Based on an average salary of £20,000, the total bonus for two years would be worth [...]
