Royal Mail deliver the goods with profit leap November 13, 2012 ROYAL Mail yesterday fuelled government hopes of delivering the firm into private sector hands next year after posting a jump in profits on the back of the boom in online shopping. The group, which is 100 per cent owned by the taxpayer, posted operating profits of £144m for the six months ending 23 September this [...]
Business groups say flexible work not right for all firms November 13, 2012 PLANS to extend parental leave and grant flexible working rights to all employees was yesterday received cautiously by business groups, who warned that many companies would struggle with the extra administrative burden. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said new legislation, which could be introduced as early as 2015, will allow both parents to share up [...]
De La Rue expects earnings to be flat after orders stall November 13, 2012 LONDON listed bank note printer De La Rue yesterday issued a profit warning for the current financial year due to a delay in orders which has stalled production. The 199 year old company, listed on FTSE 250, said results for the current year would be similar to last year’s results. It said: “A number of [...]
KPMG called to fire engine firm November 13, 2012 THE COMPANY that maintains London’s fleet of fire engines called in KPMG as administrators yesterday. Premier FireServe, formerly a subsidiary of AssetCo, has faced mounting losses, and sold the fleet earlier this year. The London Fire Brigade appointed services company Babcock International to look after its fleet after what it called “a deterioration of the [...]
Savoy breach back to haunt Ashcourt Rowan November 13, 2012 WEALTH manager Savoy Investment Management was slapped with a £412,000 fine by regulators yesterday – slashing earnings at its FTSE-listed parent company Ashcourt Rowan. The firm was handed the fine by the Financial Services Authority for offering the wrong investments to nearly a quarter of its clients, despite former management knowing about the breaches for [...]
Challenger banks want tough capital rules for bigger rivals November 13, 2012 CAPITAL requirements are too tough on challenger banks but not strong enough for established institutions, two such challenger banks told MPs and peers yesterday – despite fears that raising capital ratios further will hit lending to the real economy. Virgin Money and Metro Bank claimed the current setup gives an unfair advantage to existing banking [...]
Harry Winston snaps up BHP diamond mine November 13, 2012 BHP Billiton has agreed to sell its Canadian EKATI diamond operation to Harry Winston for $500m (£315m), as the luxury jeweller bets on rising prices that could extend the life of Canada’s oldest diamond mine. Miner BHP – which has been narrowing its portfolio to focus on larger, long-life assets – announced the sale almost [...]
Windows chief Sinofsky exits in shock move November 13, 2012 THE HEAD of Microsoft’s Windows division has left the company, just weeks after releasing the latest version of the computing software, the firm said yesterday. Steven Sinofsky, who had been at Microsoft since 1989 and was previously tipped as a possible replacement for chief executive Steve Ballmer, decided to step down, staff were told via [...]
Media tycoon invests in online firm run by ex-Sun boss’s son November 13, 2012 HOLLYWOOD mogul Peter Chernin has ploughed £7.5m into a British digital media business run by the son of the former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie. Ashley MacKenzie’s Base79 runs more than 500 YouTube channels, generating advertising revenue for content providers including the BBC and Ministry of Sound. Chernin spent 13 years as president and [...]
Johnston Press hit by ad sales November 13, 2012 REGIONAL newspaper publisher Johnston Press saw shares fall eight per cent yesterday as it said that market conditions in the third quarter of the year had been worse than expected. However, the company said it was “seeing some positive signs of a slowing in the rate of revenue decline in November”. It said it predicted [...]
