Pension groups urge firms to listen to investors on exec pay June 19, 2012 INVESTOR groups complained yesterday that executive pay in the financial sector remains “wildly out of line” with the rest of the country. Speaking the day before business secretary Vince Cable is due to unveil his plans to tighten up executive pay rules, bosses from the National Association of Pension Funds and other investing bodies told [...]
Jefferies profit falls but fixed income shines June 19, 2012 INVESTMENT bank Jefferies Group posted a lower profit yesterday on weak equity trading volumes and lower earnings from its underwriting business, but the company’s bond trading business recorded a robust quarter. As the first US investment bank to report earnings, Jefferies is often viewed as an indicator for larger Wall Street banks such as Goldman [...]
SNR Denton earnings up 38pc June 19, 2012 CITY law firm SNR Denton said yesterday that cost cutting and strategic changes had helped it increase profits by 38 per cent in 2011-12, as profits per partner (PEP) rose by 48 per cent to £350,000. Though overall revenues dipped by six per cent compared to last year, the latest figures mark a significant change [...]
RBS axes financial planner jobs as cuts under Hester hit 36,000 June 19, 2012 STATE-BACKED lender Royal Bank of Scotland is making more than 600 staff redundant as a result of legislation due to come into force at the end of the year, bringing total staff reductions at the bank since its 2008 bailout to around 36,000. RBS, 82 per cent owned by the government, said the jobs would [...]
Walgreens puts on its Boots to look for profit overseas June 19, 2012 HAS Walgreens just secured exclusive rights to the elixir of youth? By joining forces with Alliance Boots, the US pharmacist gains the UK high street stalwart’s No7 Protect & Perfect anti-ageing cream, made famous by a BBC Horizon episode in 2007 and a clinical trial supporting its effectiveness in 2009. That’s a handy flourish on [...]
ADVISERS June 19, 2012 RICHARD GIRLING CENTERVIEW PARTNERS WALGREENS’ purchase of Alliance Boots involved two very different firms: Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners. On this side of the Atlantic it represents an impressive coup for Centerview’s Richard Girling, a sector specialist who holds an MA in biochemistry from Oxford University. He helped set up Merrill Lynch’s European healthcare business in the [...]
PROFILE: WALGREENS’ NEWEST BOARD MEMBERS June 19, 2012 STEFANO PESSINA, ALLIANCE BOOTS ALLIANCE Boots’ executive chairman shows no sign of slowing down despite celebrating his 71st birthday earlier this year. Speaking to reporters yesterday he reaffirmed his commitment to the firm and said he was excited to be taking an eight per cent stake in Walgreens: “I really believe in this company and [...]
Slowing inflation opens door to money printing June 19, 2012 CONSUMER price inflation slowed again in May to its lowest rate since December 2009, according to official data out yesterday. Prices rose 2.8 per cent in the year to May, down from three per cent in the year to April, the Office for National Statistics revealed, leading economists to forecast a new round of quantitative [...]
Greek coalition haggling drags on into a third day June 19, 2012 NEGOTIATIONS between key Greek politicians have spilled into a third day, as pro-bailout parties attempt to form a fresh coalition. Evangelos Venizelos, head of the socialist Pasok party, said that he hoped a deal could be struck after lunchtime today. A three-way coalition with the election winners – the conservative New Democracy group – and [...]
Greece raises €1.3bn from new T-bills June 19, 2012 GREECE sold €1.3bn (£1.05bn) of three-month T-bills yesterday, with the yield slightly easing from a previous auction in May. The sale’s bid-cover ratio was 2.19, down from 2.32 in the 15 May auction. Greece paid a yield of 4.31 per cent, down from 4.34 per cent in the previous auction, the debt agency said. Monthly [...]
