Tough trading slows partner promotion rate at law firms September 23, 2012 THE NUMBER of partners in English and Welsh law firms has dropped for the first time since the depths of the financial crisis, research out today claims. A net 153 partnership roles disappeared in the year to the end of June, after two years in which more than a 1,000 net partner positions were added, [...]
RIM battles for reputation after European outage rocks shares September 23, 2012 BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion (RIM) is under pressure to restore its reputation after users across Europe faced a three-hour outage last Friday. Its shares closed down over six per cent last week, close to their lowest level in nine years, as the firm prepared to release its latest quarterly results this week. RIM’s chief [...]
Bank of England opens doors to public September 23, 2012 QUEUES formed around the block at the Bank of England on Saturday as it opened doors usually shut to the public. Highlights of the 30-minute tour, which was part of the City of London festival, included the Garden Court, the Governor’s office, the Court Room and the Committee Room, where the MPC meets monthly to [...]
Universal begins EMI sell-off after EU waves through deal September 23, 2012 UNIVERSAL Music’s sale of EMI assets will begin this week after the European Commission approved Universal’s £1.2bn takeover of the iconic record label but ordered that subsidiaries including Parlophone and EMI Classics are divested. The two remaining major labels – Warner Music and Sony BMG – have already indicated their interest in the parts of [...]
FF&P Private Equity backs manager buyout September 23, 2012 FLEMING Family & Partners’ private equity arm yesterday announced it had stumped up £8m to take a majority stake in the management buyout of rental furniture provider David Phillips Furniture. FF&P Private Equity has put up the money to back the deal, which will see current management reinvest in the firm. FF&P PE said the [...]
Gloom lifts for cash-strapped UK households September 23, 2012 HOUSEHOLD gloom lifted somewhat in September, Markit said today, despite the ongoing economic slump. Forty per cent of respondents expected their finances to deteriorate over the coming year, the data showed, down from 42 per cent in August. This pushed the year-ahead financial outlook index up to 44.3, from 43.5 – the least downbeat response [...]
Knight Frank says best London property thriving despite dip September 23, 2012 PRIME property in central London hit a new record high in September, according to estate agent Knight Frank, as it continued its robust recovery from the post-financial crisis slump. Prices grew 10 per cent in the last 12 months, the firm said today, pushing the index to a point some 51 per cent higher than [...]
Retail lobby calls on coalition to scrap duty rise and freeze rates September 23, 2012 THE COALITION must rein in the costs it imposes on consumers and businesses, a retail lobby group said today, after years of weak growth in the sector. The delayed fuel duty increase must be scrapped, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) demanded, and business rates must be frozen in 2013 – after rising substantially in the [...]
Management consultants triple overseas work in just a year September 23, 2012 UK-BASED management consultants have tripled the percentage of their work done outside the UK, data from an industry body revealed today. Consultancies did 17 per cent of their work in international markets in the first half of the year, up from five per cent in the same period of 2011. And fee income continued to [...]
ECB’s top man calls for closer fiscal ties in EU September 23, 2012 ONLY closer government ties and a limited system of financial transfers can help the Eurozone move past its current crisis and focus on long-term competitiveness, the European Central bank’s (ECB) Benoît Cœuré said yesterday. “In order to restore confidence, policymakers in the euro area need to resolutely push ahead with fiscal consolidation, structural reforms to [...]
