France to lower growth forecast July 1, 2012 France will lower its economic growth forecasts for this year as part of a revised budget the government will present later this week to meet its public deficit targets, finance minister Pierre Moscovici said yesterday. The country’s national audit office is expected to reveal a shortfall of about €8bn (£6.5bn) today when it publishes the [...]
Failure to switch off increases work July 1, 2012 Smartphone addicts work three extra weeks a year by checking and responding to work emails from home, according to a survey by Good Technology. The study reveals a staggering 93 per cent of people continue working after leaving the office, with 38 per cent claiming their job would be impossible without mobile email. More than [...]
Investors set to grumble about Vodafone pay July 1, 2012 VODAFONE could be the next victim of the rebellion that has gripped the shareholders of a host of British companies in recent months. Investors and shareholder bodies are preparing to speak out against Vittorio Colao’s pay package, City A.M. understands, after the Vodafone chief executive’s remuneration more than doubled to £14m. Colao was paid £3m [...]
Kada Technology unveils listing on Aim as China looks to London July 1, 2012 KADA Technology is this morning due to announce its intention to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim), making it the second Chinese company in a week to unveil a UK listing. The eight-year-old business, which provides components and devices for consumer electronics and the IT industry, is heading for a market capitalisation of £100m. [...]
OLYMPIC MEDIA BUZZ LONDON 2012 PARTNERS July 1, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partners, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 20 June to Wednesday 27 June. The big media story of the week for sponsors [...]
Firms give kids careers advice July 1, 2012 BUSINESS leaders are joining forces to deliver speeches to children at the UK’s state schools, in an attempt to improve employment prospects. Robert Peston, business editor for BBC News, is spearheading Inspiring the Future, a scheme aimed at bringing more state school pupils into contact with potential employers and careers advice. Its existing sister scheme, [...]
British banks losing ground in world league July 1, 2012 BRITISH and European banks are rapidly losing ground to rising Chinese giants, according to a major new report out today, with relatively low capital levels and profits, and the highest losses in the world. In the last year UK banks’ profits fell 8.2 per cent, lending dropped 3.12 per cent and capital fell 1.71 per [...]
New Eurozone credit crunch as coming recession hits lending July 1, 2012 THE FAILURE of short-term quick fixes to rescue the Eurozone’s broken banks means lending levels will be slashed and balance sheets will shrink at a faster rate even than in the financial crisis, a report from Ernst and Young warns today. The looming recession means non-performing loans will mount to record highs in 2013, while [...]
House prices slump further as demand slips outside London July 1, 2012 THE WEAK outlook in the housing market was reinforced by research published by Hometrack today, which points to stagnant prices and fewer buyers entering the market. Prices in June were completely flat compared to May, leaving then 0.5 per cent down on the year. Compared to May, there were 0.5 per cent fewer new buyers [...]
Steel and cement firms hit by slowdown in home-building July 1, 2012 HEAVY industry is suffering in the recession, as light industry goes from strength to strength, according to survey data released by the Construction Products Association (CPA) today. On balance 45 per cent of heavy side firms, which produce products like cement and steel, reported that sales slid in the second quarter of 2012 compared to [...]
