Firms begin to regain cheer as economy heals October 7, 2012 BUSINESS confidence began to return in the third quarter, data from Deloitte revealed today, but firms are still very wary about the economic environment. Sentiment improved from minus 35 last quarter to minus nine now, the statistics showed, but this still indicated pessimism among the finance chiefs surveyed. And though fewer respondents said they expected [...]
Why I will be in the pink for the Tory Party Conference October 7, 2012 I SPENT this weekend packing for a four-day trip to Birmingham to cover the Conservative Party conference. And I really mean all weekend too. To start with, it turns out chief whip Andrew Mitchell isn’t going, saying he risks being a “distraction”. So much for the Pleb & Proud t-shirt. His absence doesn’t reflect well [...]
Temporary work boosted but permanent roles are stagnant October 7, 2012 THE MARKET for temporary workers is booming, two data releases showed yesterday, but both point to a less positive picture in permanent placements. Temporary jobs growth hit a 14-month high, data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG showed yesterday, while permanent appointments inched down slightly. This chimed with data from the Association of [...]
Hopes raised in retail sector as shoppers return to high street October 7, 2012 AFTER YEARS of decline, footfall on high streets was basically flat in September, data from Springboard showed today. Footfall fell 0.4 per cent in the year to last month, Springboard said, a improvement on last year’s 1.2 per cent fall, and the collapses of 5.3 per cent in 2009 and 10.6 per cent during the [...]
Directors enjoy pay boost October 7, 2012 Directors of companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) got big wage rises over the last year, data from the Incomes Data Services showed today. Total earnings for AIM directors rose by 5.7 per cent in the year to April, from a median of £184,500 to £195,000 – meaning their pay has boomed some [...]
CBI calls for road building October 7, 2012 The government needs to step up road building to cut congestion costs and boost long term growth, the Confederation of British Industry said today. The economy is losing £8bn a year due to congestion on its “creaking” road network, the business lobby claimed, losses which could grow to £22bn by 2025. To resolve the problem, [...]
OFT raids payday lenders October 7, 2012 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has stepped up its campaign against payday lending firms by raiding their business properties, data from law firm Pinsent Masons revealed today. The business regulator made 68 searches in the first half of 2012, the data showed, compared to the one it made over the whole of 2011. “The [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 7, 2012 Coutts Michael Mount has been appointed managing director, Coutts International UK at the wealth division of RBS. He joins from HSBC, where he was most recently a managing director in its UK private banking business. Mount has 27 years’ experience in international markets, and has also led business development at HSBC Private Bank, and served [...]
Best of the Brokers October 7, 2012 BSKYB Numis rates the media group “add” with a target price of 865p ahead of first quarter results due on 1 November. The broker expects to see strong subscription growth following a summer of sport, though earnings growth is likely to be muted at around one per cent, after the firm bought a string of [...]
Burberry and WH Smith in the spotlight October 7, 2012 A RAFT of economic information due out tomorrow will shed light on whether the UK is gradually pulling out of its double-dip recession. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) will release its sales data for September, following a gloomy August where the Olympics failed to boost spending and like-for-like retail figures fell 0.4 per cent compared [...]
