IMF to consider social issues in austerity plans October 4, 2012 RESCUE programmes for financially troubled countries should seek to avoid cutting social safety nets too deeply and limit the shock of spending cuts whenever it is possible, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual report concluded yesterday. Strains of deep austerity programmes in countries like Greece have prompted the IMF to take more care over the [...]
Greeks clash with police over pay dispute October 4, 2012 GREEK police clashed with protesting shipyard workers who stormed the defence ministry complex in Athens yesterday demanding back pay that they claimed they were owed. About 250 shipyard workers forced their way into the complex and stood in the ministry’s grounds. Scuffles broke out when police surrounded the workers.
Boris reignites row over delay to airport plans October 4, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday admitted that a new airport in the Thames estuary would require £30bn of public funding – as he launched an attack on the government for paying “lamentable attention” to aviation policy. The Mayor told business leaders at City Hall that he was “hugely concerned” by the government’s independent review into airport expansion, which [...]
Brookfield sues Pinnacle owners over millions in unpaid fees October 4, 2012 THE BUILDERS of the Pinnacle are suing the owners of the stalled £1bn skyscraper development for breach of contract and are claiming millions of pounds in unpaid fees. According to documents filed at the High Court of Justice, Brookfield Construction UK, a subsidiary of the Canadian-owned contractor, is seeking to claw back payments for work [...]
Anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death October 4, 2012 TODAY marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, former Apple chief executive. Jobs, who co-founded the company in 1976, is credited as a father of the personal computing revolution through products such as the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs was also instrumental to the rise of film animation studio Pixar.
Financial jobs market is still in expansion October 4, 2012 A HIRING surge in legal and professional services firms has helped buoy the overall headcount in London’s financial sector in the first half of the year, according to a survey out today. London’s financial and professional services industry has gained 2,700 roles, or 0.4 per cent, during the first six months of the year. It [...]
Asia takes the shine off growth at staffing firm Robert Walters October 4, 2012 A SLOWDOWN in hiring in Asia has weighed on recruitment firm Robert Walters’ third quarter results, the company said yesterday. The white-collar recruiter posted an eight per cent rise in net fee income to £13.1m in the UK, only to be overshadowed by a five per cent fall on last year to £24.1m in Asia [...]
British M&A activity drops 30 per cent October 4, 2012 UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity dropped by nearly a third in the last quarter, according to data released yesterday by accountancy firm Ernst & Young. The total value of British deals fell by 28 per cent quarter-on-quarter, more than double the global rate of decline. The figures suggest that as the Eurozone crisis and worldwide [...]
Loophole stops industry from going full speed October 4, 2012 FINALLY, some good news. Not only did car sales improve by more than expected in September, but the gains came mostly through consumer spending rather than corporate sales. But wait – a new car? That’s a pretty luxurious purchase in these straitened times, surely the squeezed middle can’t be cutting back on everything else and [...]
Motor insurers hit by Moody’s October 4, 2012 RATINGS agency Moody’s yesterday said the Competition Commission’s (CC) probe into the UK car insurance industry will negatively impact the credit outlook of major insurers. Firms affected by the announcement include market leader Direct Line, which is due to float on the London Stock Exchange next week. “The CC’s investigation is credit negative because at [...]
