BAT under fire over chairman August 19, 2009 INVESTORS last night expressed disquiet at the appointment of Richard Burrows as the next chair of British American Tobacco (BAT) less than two months after he stood down as governor of the Bank of Ireland following massive losses. Burrows will be stepping into the role on 1 November following the retirement of Jan du Plessis, [...]
CITY ALARMED BY BANK SPLIT August 19, 2009 CITY economists expressed concern yesterday about the fragility of the UK economy after it emerged that Bank of England governor Mervyn King had pushed to extend quantitative easing (QE) by £75bn earlier this month. Economists were shocked to learn that the Bank’s policymakers had been divided over how much to extend QE. Minutes from the [...]
Oil surprise staves off Wall Street lull August 19, 2009 US stocks rose yesterday, shaking off a slide in China’s equity market as investors responded well to a surprise drop in crude oil stockpiles that might suggest an improving demand outlook. Exxon Mobil and Chevron led the blue-chip Dow industrials index’s advance. Exxon Mobil was up 2.3 per cent at $68.00, and Chevron gained 1.8 [...]
Eurasian leads the miners higher while Lloyds shines August 19, 2009 THE FTSE 100 share index inched higher yesterday, helped by oil producers, which gained on firmer crude prices as US demand recovered, but banks fell after HSBC traded ex-dividend. The index closed up by 3.89 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 4,689.67, after trading as low as 4,625.44 earlier in the day. Volumes on the [...]
CITY EYE August 19, 2009 A City worker basks in the lunchtime sun yesterday at Finsbury Circus, enjoying temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius. Pity our poor cousins up North, who were enduring clouds, cooler temperatures and rain showers while we were sweltering…
FULL CIRCLE IN SPORT RETAILERS’ WILY WORLD August 19, 2009 IS THERE no end to the incestuous intricacies to the colourful sports retail sector? The current hot potato in the industry is the tide of bad feeling towards JJB chairman Sir David Jones, whose past emails criticising the firm’s directors were recently leaked by former chief executive Chris Ronnie, the man widely blamed for bringing [...]
LONDON BARGAIN CITY August 19, 2009 LONDON has dropped 19 places in a ranking of the world’s most expensive cities due to the sterling’s devaluation, according to research out yesterday by UBS. London now ranks 21st both in the comparison of living costs in 73 cities around the world and in its international wage level comparison.
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 19, 2009 Ernst & YoungJohn Harley has been appointed as global private equity leader at the accountancy firm, having joined in 2000 to lead its technology, communications and entertainment corporate finance practice. Harley, who is currently head of private equity for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa at the firm, is also leading the E&Y response [...]
Jessops warns of further losses as downward spiral continues August 19, 2009 PHOTOGRAPHIC retailer Jessops yesterday reported gloomy trading figures, with sales down 4.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 16 August. The group said it still expects to post a loss for this financial year because of the difficult retail environment. The recent fall in sales comes after a 3.6 per cent drop in the [...]
Sovereign to cut board pay August 19, 2009 HOME equity release firm Sovereign Reversions said yesterday its directors would take a significant pay cut if they manage to fight off a rebellion from shareholders seeking to oust the board and put the group into run-off. In a letter to shareholders, non-executive director John Gummer, a Conservative party MP, said Sovereign would “propose long-term [...]
