Mandelson promotes UK in China September 6, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson is currently leading a delegation of UK businessmen to China to forge better business relations between the two countries on a range of issues, particularly on low carbon economic development. Mandelson will meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and other senior government ministers and business organisations on the trip. “China is [...]
LSE eyes up Warsaw market September 6, 2009 The London Stock Exchange is mulling a takeover of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, in a move which would throw it into battle with its three biggest rivals. NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX and Deutsche Borse are also considering a bid for the Polish stock exchange, which would offer the opportunity to increase market share in central [...]
Search on for new Experian boss September 6, 2009 Credit checking group Experian is due to appoint headhunters within the next fortnight to search out a worthy successor to chairman John Peace, who announced in July he was leaving to take up the chairmanship at Standard Chartered. Peace, who is also chairman of designer fashion house Burberry, has been acting chairman at the bank [...]
Women’s pay lags behind men’s in City September 6, 2009 WOMEN working in the UK’s finance industry face the highest overall gender pay gap, according to a study out today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission In a stern warning to the City, the Commission has said that it may order financial firms to publish employment data and undertake annual equal pay audits to [...]
Barratt Developments set to launch 500m rights issue September 6, 2009 Housebuilder Barratt Development is expected to launch its £500m rights issue at the end of this month. Insurer RSA, rival housebuilder Redrow and several others are thought to be readying themselves to bid for the stake. The cash call is believed to be part of the group’s efforts to make further inroads into its £1.3bn [...]
Thomas Cook agency set to dump stake on market September 6, 2009 A STAKE of almost 50 per cent in Thomas Cook, Europe’s second largest travel agent, is expected to be dumped on the market this week. The 43.9 per cent stake belonging to insolvent German department store owner Arcandor had been used as collateral against €1.5bn (£1.3bn) in credit from German banks Bayern and Commerzbank and [...]
Quantitative easing and low interest rates to stay, says BDO Stoy Hayward September 6, 2009 THE 0.5 per cent basic rate of interest is here to stay until at least the end of 2010, while quantitative easing will also continue, accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward predicted yesterday. The company’s latest Business Trends report envisages a continuation of the Bank of England’s current monetary policy to counterbalance low inflation and the [...]
ITV board wrangles over Ball’s remuneration deal September 6, 2009 The ITV nominations committee is understood to be in dispute with Tony Ball over the “considerable” remuneration package the former BSkyB chief executive is demanding to become its new chief executive. ITV has been reluctant to appoint Ball, who earned more than £25m as boss of BSkyB between 1999 and 2003, as a number of [...]
Fine wines still flavour of month for investors September 6, 2009 THE main fine wine indices rose in August at the fastest rate since mid-2007, as investors continue to plough money into less volatile assets despite signs of a return of confidence to the equity markets. The Liv-ex 100 index rose 4.6 per cent in August, while the Liv-ex Claret Chip index recorded gains of 5.9 [...]
AIG sells unit to Bridge for fee of $500m September 6, 2009 BAILED-OUT US insurer American International Group (AIG) has struck a deal to sell its investment advisory and asset management operations for around $500m (£305m), the company said at the weekend. Bridge Partners, which is owned by private equity house Pacific Century Group, is to buy AIG Investments for an initial $300m, but the price could [...]
