HSBC launches Russian project June 9, 2009 HSBC is moving into retail banking in Russia, in a bid to take advantage of the country’s burgeoning middle class, which the bank said was “relatively undamaged” by the recession. Europe’s largest bank opened its first retail branch in Moscow yesterday and is planning three more in the Russian capital and another in St. Petersburg. [...]
The winner from the tuna debacle? Nobu June 9, 2009 THE speed with which Pret a Manger and M&S have put to use The End of the Line, a film about the overfishing of bluefin tuna that hasn’t even been released yet, is astonishing. Another movie points the finger at our cruel, environment-wrecking ways and before you can say “skipjack”, the tuna sandwich is struck [...]
Banks are becoming more popular despite crisis June 9, 2009 AS a pollster, it’s not so often that survey results fly in the face of your expectations, but preparing some BrandIndex data for a talk at the Association of British Insurers conference, I had two surprises. Looking at the “buzz” tracking for three baskets of brands – banks, utilities, and separately financial services (providers of [...]
Anglo Irish’s stabilisation will be tough June 9, 2009 THE stabilisation of Anglo Irish Bank will be difficut but if the nationalised lender was wound up taxpayers would be left with the bill, its chairman warned yesterday, helping fuel a spike in Irish borrowing costs. Once a darling of investors during the height of the “Celtic Tiger” economy, Anglo Irish has become the bane [...]
FSA’s Turner ends insurance regulation fears June 9, 2009 ADAIR Turner, head of City regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA), reassured the insurance sector yesterday, saying there was no need for a rules “revolution” in the sector equivalent to the one banks are facing. He told the Association of British Insurers’ biennial conference that liquidity risks – which caused the banking collapse – are [...]
Osborne hits out at City in key speech June 9, 2009 TORY shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday said the City’s focus on “illusory” short-term gains had damaged the financial sector and the entire economy. Speaking at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) conference, Osborne said that City regulation needed to be reformed to “reduce the risks the financial sector poses to the rest of the economy”. [...]
CRITICS DO A U-TURN ON HORNBY’S REPUTATION June 9, 2009 A RINGING endorsement of Andy Hornby, the besieged former chief of HBOS who is now joining retailer Alliance Boots, from the most unlikely of quarters. John Thurso, the Lib Dem spokesman for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, has been among Hornby’s harshest critics as a member of the Treasury Select Committee that harangued various bankers [...]
REVENUES FIZZ AT IRN BRU June 8, 2009 DRINKS maker AG Barr, which makes Irn Bru, said yesterday its sales from 1 February to 29 May rose 22.5 per cent from a year ago, boosted by a strong performance in the Rubicon fruit juice unit it bought last year. Like-for-like sales, taking out the effect of the Rubicon acquisition, also jumped by 7.9 [...]
Pubs to fight competition probe June 8, 2009 Pub companies are to fight a rearguard action to prevent a potentially damaging probe into competition issues at the heart of the industry. A cross-party committee of MPs last week called on the Competition Commission to look into the arrangement by which pub tenants buy beer directly from landlords. But Enterprise Inns is now leading [...]
Setanta close to administration June 8, 2009 The board of Irish sports broadcaster Setanta met yesterday, a person familiar with the situation said, following media reports the group was close to going into administration. Sources close to the Premier League said that the people running English football’s top flight would be willing to see the broadcaster go under. The company, which could [...]
