CBA profits drop but number of bad debts starts to fall August 12, 2009 COMMONWEALTH Bank of Australia, the country’s third-largest lender, saw full-year pre-tax profit fall nine per cent to A$5.8bn (£2.9bn) yesterday, compared to A$6.4bn in 2008. However second half profit at the bank registered an 18 per cent improvement, rising to A$3.2bn from $2.7bn in the first half of its fiscal year, which ended on 30 [...]
Burden of pensions for ex-staff mounts August 12, 2009 BLUE CHIP companies are now being forced to spend more covering shortfalls on the pensions of former staff than they do on the future pensions of existing employees, according to research released yesterday. Within five years, payments made to top up the pensions of previous employees will outstrip those for current staff by a ratio [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 12, 2009 RSAThe insurer has appointed Christian Torkington as its new UK chief operating officer. Torkington joins from Scottish Widows, where he was managing director of operations. Prior to that, he worked at Barclays in a variety of senior roles, and was also the chief executive of an economic development agency. RSIM Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management has [...]
JOBS DRIVE FOR MORRISONS August 12, 2009 WM MORRISON yesterday said it would create 7,000 jobs in 2009, exceeding its initial target by 40 per cent. Britain’s fourth largest grocery said it had reached its original target of 5,000 new jobs five months early and would now add an additional 2,000 posts. One-third of the new recruits will be in the 18 [...]
China wins in its bid for Emerald August 12, 2009 SINOCHEM has agreed a £532.1m deal to take over London-listed oil and gas explorer Emerald, in the latest deal by a state-owned Chinese company eager to secure interests in natural resources overseas. The deal will give Sinochem, which focuses on energy, agriculture, chemicals, finance and real estate, access to Emerald’s operations in Syria and Colombia. [...]
Equality watchdog launches a probe into the gender pay gap August 12, 2009 THE EQUALITY and Human Rights Commission is today launching a consultation on how private and voluntary sector employers with at least 250 staff can measure and report on their gender pay gap. Women working full-time currently earn 17.1 per cent less per hour on average than men, with the gap failing to improve over the [...]
Moody’s: Credit quality diving August 12, 2009 THE QUALITY of credit in Western Europe continued to deteriorate sharply in the second quarter, with a record-breaking 122 financial institutions downgraded, according to Moody’s. The ratings giant said the deterioration continued to hit most major economies in the region. In total, 177 bonds were downgraded, amid fears that companies may struggle to maintain repayments [...]
Microsoft and Nokia gang up on Blackberry August 12, 2009 NOKIA and Microsoft yesterday unveiled an alliance which will see Nokia smartphones pre-loaded with Microsoft office, in a bid to challenge the dominance of the Blackberry in the business market. The software and mobile telecoms giants said that they are working together to put MS Office Mobile, MS Communicator Mobile and other services on selected [...]
FORGET CANNES: CANARY WHARF’S FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO TOWN August 12, 2009 CANARY Wharfers should dust off their finery: there’s a film festival coming to town. OK, so it’s not quite Cannes – there’ll be no red carpet, much to the disappointment of preen-happy financiers, and designer dresses and tuxes are far from obligatory. But the Canary Wharf Film Festival, taking place between 3 and 7 September, [...]
Nice ice baby August 12, 2009 ICE cream never used to be a gourmet dinner’s crowning glory. Yet London has become a capital for the stuff – from street vendors to high gastronomy. Take Michel Roux at Michelin-starred Le Gavroche, who makes all his ice cream fresh daily – this week that includes fresh mint and peanut butter. Or Justin Saunders [...]
