Murcia to seek Spanish funds July 22, 2012 Tiny Murcia was on course yesterday to be the second Spanish region to request help from the central government to keep it afloat, as media reported half a dozen local authorities were ready to follow in the footsteps of Valencia. How Spain’s 17 indebted autonomous regions, locked out of international debt markets, refinance €36bn in [...]
Dairy farmers continue protests July 22, 2012 More than 2,000 dairy farmers took part in a further night of protests yesterday over the price they are paid for milk. Members of protest group Farmers for Action have staged a series of blockades at milk processing plants since Thursday over a recent 2p-a-pint cut in the price of milk, which they warn will [...]
Anthony Salz to lead Barclays’ culture inquiry July 22, 2012 LEADING solicitor and Rothschild vice-chairman Anthony Salz will today be appointed to investigate staff ethics at Barclays and create a new code of conduct. Meanwhile it emerged that leadership favourites Rich Ricci and Sir Michael Rake have ruled themselves out of the running in the race to become chief executive and chairman of the bank [...]
Kay report to call for measures to tackle firms’ short-termism July 22, 2012 A GOVERNMENT report due out today is expected to recommend an end to the practice of companies reporting results every quarter. The proposal is one of a range of measures put forward by economist John Kay that aim to incentivise long-term performance over short-term returns at listed firms. Other suggestions include forcing institutional investors to [...]
French Prime Minister to meet Peugeot chief executive today July 22, 2012 FRENCH Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will meet Peugeot Citroen’s chief executive Philippe Varin today amid growing tensions between the car maker and the country’s new Socialist government. The meeting comes ahead of a government rescue plan for the ailing car sector due next week. Peugeot, which last week said it would cut 8,000 posts in [...]
New brooms should not sweep aside Diamond’s achievements July 22, 2012 BARCLAYS is set to replace its two top positions from outside. That’s damaging in the short-term, because it means a longer process of transition rather than a swift coronation. Yet those who favour a pair of new brooms point to the longer-term, saying it will be a clean break with Bob Diamond’s controversial reign. There’s [...]
UK investors to enjoy record year for divis July 22, 2012 A SPATE of special dividends were partly behind a record quarter for shareholder payouts, according to research out today. FTSE-listed companies paid £22.6bn to investors in the second quarter, a rise of 18.4 per cent from the previous quarter, claims Capita Registrars. Around a third of this was from special divis, from the likes of [...]
Retail split may come early for an eager Lloyds July 22, 2012 LLOYDS could announce this week that it plans to accelerate the ring-fence separation of its retail banking arm from its investment banking operations, it was reported yesterday. The bank already has fewer investment operations than the UK’s other major banks, which could allow it to split into two parts well ahead of the expected 2019 [...]
Haste and private equity look at possible bid for Direct Line July 22, 2012 ANDY Haste, the former chief executive of insurer RSA, is believed to have teamed up with private equity firms to study a possible bid for insurance group Direct Line. RBS, which plans to dispose of Direct Line by the end of the year, has not yet had a formal approach from his consortium, which includes [...]
Commercial court cases rise in recession July 22, 2012 THE NUMBER of winding-up petitions presented to the High Court rose by a quarter to 7,166 last year as UK companies continued to struggle, according to research released today. This drove a 1,282 rise in the total number of commercial cases launched in the High Court last year, up to 49,166 from 47,884 in 2010. [...]
