Barclays quits open outcry trade at LME November 22, 2012 MAJOR commodities player Barclays quit open outcry floor trading at the London Metal Exchange (LME) yesterday, downgrading its membership at the world’s biggest marketplace for industrial metals to cut costs. The commodities operations of banks like Barclays face tough times and total commodities trading turnover for the 10 biggest investment banks has tumbled 20 per [...]
Death knell for final salary in pension rejig November 22, 2012 A NEW workplace pension model was proposed yesterday in an effort to limit the financial risk for both employers and employees. Under the controversial proposals, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested an employer can end a final salary pension scheme when an employee leaves the firm, thereby cutting the firms’ risk exposure. [...]
Sarah Brown joins Harrods board November 22, 2012 SARAH Brown, the wife of former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has been appointed as a non-executive director of Harrods, the luxury department store said yesterday. Brown will work within the marketing and corporate social responsibility division.
Argentina ordered to pay its bond holders November 22, 2012 ARGENTINA could be pushed into a fresh default on its debts, after a US judge ordered the country to pay holders of $1.33bn-worth of bonds that were defaulted upon during its 2001 financial crisis. Judge Thomas Griesa has lifted a previous order stalling payments to so-called holdout investors, many of them hedge funds, who refused [...]
FSA set to tighten rules on SIPP plans November 22, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA), which regulates the City, is planning to quadruple capital requirements on firms offering self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) to offset the costs of winding the companies down if they fail. Currently, firms offering SIPPs must hold a minimum of £5,000 – but the FSA plans to hike this requirement to £20,000, [...]
Peroni pints for £5 aid SABMiller beat downturn November 22, 2012 BREWING giant SABMiller said yesterday that positioning itself as a premium seller in the UK had reaped rewards, as the Peroni maker bucked a declining market to record a rise in lager sales. “We are focusing on that premium brand position and we don’t apologise for some of our partners charging five quid a pint,” [...]
What is your opinion on SABMiller going forward? November 22, 2012 EDDY HARGREAVES | CANACCORD GENUITY Our expectations were originally lowered due to weaker currencies and to an increased concern about European trading. However, Europe is not quite as bad as we feared and an improved performance in Russia looks positive. We believe the shares lack a catalyst, so we remain at ‘hold’. JAMES EDWARD JONES [...]
Young’s pubs by the Olympic park get gold November 22, 2012 THE COW and Calf pubs at the centre of Stratford’s Westfield shopping centre were the highlight of an impressive six months for Young and Co. with the venues seeing record numbers of visitors during the Olympic Games. The two pubs “shattered all our previous sales records in the second week of the Games,” Young’s said, [...]
Mothercare UK rescue strategy helps cut losses November 22, 2012 MOTHERCARE narrowed its losses in the first half of the year as international sales growth and efforts to turn around its troubled UK division helped boost business. The baby products retailer yesterday reported a pre-tax loss of £27.4m in the six months to 13 October, an improvement on its £81.4m loss in the same period [...]
Sparing the rod could spoil the group November 22, 2012 IT WAS easy for shoppers in the UK to see what was wrong with Mothercare. Shabby stores and a generally low-end feel to the product range damaged the brand and left it open to competition from hipper contenders like Mamas & Papas. Yet that ignored its performance outside the UK, which accounted for 54.5 per [...]
