Plus Markets to close after sale process fails May 14, 2012 ALTERNATIVE stock exchange Plus Markets yesterday announced that it will shut down after failing to find a buyer, bringing to an end more than six years of trading. “The Board regrets to inform shareholders that the Company’s cash balance has reached a level at which the Board has informed the FSA that it intends to [...]
Lloyds poaches top StanChart exec for head of wholesale job May 14, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group has poached a senior executive from rival Standard Chartered (StanChart) to fill a hole made vacant by the departure of its former head of wholesale, Truett Tate. The appointment of Andrew Bester, who is the chief operating officer of consumer banking at StanChart, will supplant Andrew Géczy, who had been acting head [...]
Founder of Best Buy quits May 14, 2012 BEST Buy founder Richard Schulze is stepping down as chairman after he failed to tell the board that a former CEO had an improper relationship with a female employee, the electronics retailer said yesterday. Best Buy said the board’s investigation had found that former chief Brian Dunn’s relationship “negatively impacted the work environment”, but involved [...]
E.ON freezes its tariffs for 2012 May 14, 2012 E.ON, one of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers, said yesterday it will not increase energy tariffs for its UK residential customers this year, despite rising wholesale energy prices. Last week, Centrica said gas costs would be 15 per cent higher next winter, while other pressures would add another £50 to the cost of supplying energy to [...]
SHOEMAKER FERRAGAMO’S PROFIT BOOMING May 14, 2012 ITALIAN luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo said strong growth across all markets helped boost net profit by ten per cent in the first quarter to €17m (£13.5m). The fashion house, which made its debut on the Milan stock exchange in June last year, said revenues in the three months to 31 March rose 23 per cent [...]
Ageas reports loss but strong growth in UK May 14, 2012 BELGIAN-based insurer Ageas yesterday recorded a net loss of €84m (£67m) for the first quarter, mainly as a result of outstanding issues stemming from its former identity as part of failed bank Fortis. The loss was less than analysts had expected, and the firm’s insurance division achieved a strong 15 per cent rise in net [...]
Louis Dreyfus set to tap capital markets as buying spree looms May 14, 2012 LOUIS Dreyfus, one of the world’s largest commodity firms, is set to issue bonds for the first time in its 160-year history. The food trading house aims to raise the cash as it plans a series of acquisitions as part of a $7bn (£4.3bn) spending programme. It intends to raise its investment by 40 per [...]
Danish auction set to bring in £100m for security group G4S May 14, 2012 SECURITY group G4S could raise around £100m after opening talks to sell part of its Danish business. The London and Copenhagen-listed firm said it was looking at several options including a divestment. Any deal would be dependent, however, on achieving a decent price in the depressed market for mergers and acquisitions. “Discussions with potential acquirers [...]
Consumer organisations call for regulation of PPI claims May 14, 2012 LEADING consumer organisations yesterday joined with banks to demand the government institutes tougher regulations on claims management companies (CMCs). Mis-selling scandals involving products such as payment protection insurance (PPI) have created a mini-industry of firms that say they will help consumers access compensation. But some of these firms retain up to a third of the [...]
Poundstretcher hires new chief May 14, 2012 Poundstretcher has hired Richard Kirk, the former boss of womenswear retailer Peacocks as its new chief executive. Kirk stepped down from the debt-laden retailer in January after it fell into administration in the biggest collapse in the retail sector since Woolworths in 2008. Before joining Peacocks in 1996, Kirk working as managing director of Iceland [...]
