Identity cards will now be voluntary June 30, 2009 THE government has dropped plans to bring in compulsory biometric identity cards for airport workers and revealed the multi-billion pound scheme will be voluntary for all Britons. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the government now planned to go ahead with the introduction of the £30 cards, which contain personal details, fingerprints and a facial image, [...]
Confidence up for City employees June 30, 2009 CITY professionals are increasingly confident of their job security, according to a survey published by executive search consultancy GRS yesterday. During May and June, 42.75 per cent of 3,000 respondents said they believed they would be more secure in their jobs in the next three months, up two per cent since earlier in the year [...]
Trading halted on HandMade June 30, 2009 AIM-listed rights and film company HandMade’s shares were suspended from yesterday after the company failed to publish its audited accounts for the year ending 31 December 2008 by yesterday’s deadline. The company said that it was in advanced discussions over multiple corporate transactions and an associated fundraising, and that it would publish the full details [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE CITY MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT THE JOB MARKET? June 30, 2009 SAM LUKES ALLIANCE & LEICESTER“ I think it’s definitely a lot more confident. Clients are not asking for redundancy cover, and making moves towards more optimistic investments. I feel relatively secure in my job. I think where big bank mergers have happened losses will still come, but all the major bank job cuts I think [...]
Wolseley boss to step down June 30, 2009 BRITISH building supplies company Wolseley said yesterday that chief executive Chip Hornsby would step down with immediate effect, lifting its shares. The plumbers and builders merchant said Ian Meakins would succeed Hornsby on 13 July. Meakins has held positions as chief executive of Travelex Holdings and Alliance Unichem until its merger with Boots. “The management [...]
Santander pushes on with rebranding June 30, 2009 SPANISH banking giant Santander is dropping the Abbey UK Corporate Banking and Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank brands, as it pushes ahead with its assimilation of the UK lenders. The banks’ 20 regional corporate banking centres yesterday began converting to the Santander Corporate Banking name. Santander head of corporate banking Steve Pateman said he wants [...]
Sylvania and Ruukki merge June 30, 2009 FINNISH metal components group Ruukki yesterday announced plans to snap up Australian platinum group metals (PGM) producer Sylvania Resources under a €268m (£228.3m) merger implementation agreement. Under the terms of the deal, each Sylvania shareholder will receive one Ruukki share for every 1.81 Sylvania shares held. Current Ruukki chief executive Alwyn Smit is to continue [...]
MySpace axes 100 jobs in UK June 30, 2009 SOCIAL networking site MySpace is thought to have decided to axe two thirds of its UK workers, after it said last week it would cut its global workforce from 450 to 150 staff. At the time, the company did not give any details as to where the jobs would be lost. But it is understood [...]
BP and CNPC in cut-price Iraq oil deal June 30, 2009 AN ALLIANCE led by UK oil giant BP yesterday secured a six-year contract to develop Iraq’s biggest oil field, but had to agree to a fifty per cent cut in the fees it had been asking for. In a consortium with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), BP accepted a fee of $2 (£1.20) for each [...]
Michael Jackson’s death gives boost to YouTube June 30, 2009 FOLLOWING the untimely death of Michael Jackson, fans of the pop sensation were brought together by one man’s music. Whereas in a previous age people might have rushed to buy re-issued records or CDs, in the internet age it translated into a surge of people looking online for Jackson’s music. As well as music retailers, [...]
