UK sees rise in satisfaction and fall in anxiety since last year July 30, 2013 Personal well being in the UK has improved since last year, with more people feeling satisfied and fewer feeling anxious, according to an official survey. The annual population survey, which was released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday, suggests that more people also suggested that the things they do are worthwhile in 2012-13 [...]
Frack in the north, says Tory peer July 30, 2013 Conservative peer Lord Howell, the former energy secretary, has argued that “uninhabited and desolate” areas in the north east of England should be the venue for Britain’s controversial fracking efforts. “Certainly in part of the north east where there’s plenty of room for fracking, well away from anybody’s residence, where we could conduct without any kind [...]
Solvency II hits company profits July 30, 2013 Two thirds of European insurance companies have had to take on substantial numbers of extra staff to deal with delayed EU reforms to the sector, according to a report released yesterday by Moody’s Analytics. The research found that the majority of insurers have had to increase staff by at least 10 per cent in order to [...]
Standard Bank in trade arm sale July 30, 2013 South Africa’s Standard Bank is in advanced talks to sell its London commodity trading business to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. It was not immediately clear how much Standard Bank was seeking for the business, though reports of early-stage talks last year put the price tag [...]
Tufnell bags top job at Zatchels July 30, 2013 GREG Tufnell, the former chief executive of children’s store Mothercare – and brother of cricketer Phil Tufnell – has announced his long-awaited return to the retail sector. Tufnell, who before his stint at Mothercare held senior roles at menswear chain Burton and high street giant Next, has accepted the job of chairman at leather bag [...]
Win Boris’s signed cycle shirt July 30, 2013 THERE are only four days to go until Mayor of London Boris Johnson captains his very own Team Boris in the Ride London 100 race – a 100 mile cycle challenge around London and Surrey. Cycling on the Mayor’s team are City pedallers from the likes of Cazenove Capital, Barclays, Aviva, and Azure Wealth. And [...]
Dan Loeb calls Sony unit a red-headed stepchild July 30, 2013 Sony investor Dan Loeb has criticised the electronics firm for treating its entertainment division “like its red-headed stepchild”. Loeb, who is pushing Sony to sell off its film and music unit, said the business “remains poorly managed, with a famously bloated corporate structure”. In his quarterly letter to investors in the Third Point hedge fund, [...]
Casino mobile gaming firm makes its AIM debut July 30, 2013 Twentyfourseven Gaming Group (24/7), the company behind casino games for smartphones and tablets, is making its debut on London’s junior market today, as it looks to expand its presence in the booming mobile gaming market. The company said it will enter London’s alternative investment market (AIM) with 146.7m shares, giving it a market value of [...]
Vicky Pryce stripped of official honour July 30, 2013 The economist Vicky Pryce was yesterday stripped of an official honour by the Queen after being found to have brought it into disrepute. Pryce, the ex-wife of former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister Chris Huhne, will no longer be able to call herself a member of the Companion of the Order of the Bath. She received [...]
BT splits retail division into consumer and business July 30, 2013 BT yesterday said it would split its retail division into two separate companies amid an increasingly bitter broadband war with rivals. BT Retail, which posted quarterly revenues of £1.8bn last week and represents roughly 40 per cent of the groups income, will split into two entities called BT Consumer and BT Business. John Petter will [...]
