Crystal Methodist appointed on psychometric tests January 28, 2014 Disgraced former-Co-op Bank chairman Revered Flowers got the job because he did well in psychometric tests, despite lacking the finance knowledge of his rivals for the job, one of those rivals said today. Rodney Baker-Bates had experience of banking but lost out to Flowers because of the tests – a major review of the bank’s [...]
Lloyds to axe 1,080 jobs January 28, 2014 State-backed bank Lloyds is to cut 1,080 positions across the UK and to outsource another 310 jobs, according to union Unite. The cuts are part of the 15,000 job reductions announced back in June 2011, with the most recent wave seeing major job losses in the Commercial SME & mid-markets business, and Wealth’s private banking [...]
JP Morgan statement on death of man at Canary Wharf office January 28, 2014 JP Morgan has released a brief statement on the news this morning that a man in his 30s has fallen from from the roof of the bank’s Canary Wharf office. "We are reviewing a very sad incident at 25, Bank Street this morning,” the bank said. It is understood that no news on the man’s [...]
Man dies after fall from JP Morgan roof January 28, 2014 A man has died after falling from the roof of JP Morgan's Canary Wharf office. He was pronounced dead at the scene on Bank Street at just after 8.00am this morning, according to police. A police spokesman said that "we believe we know the identity of the deceased but we await formal identification". "Officers from [...]
Growth strong but slowing: GDP up by 0.7pc in final quarter of 2013 January 28, 2014 UK GDP grew by 0.7 per cent in the final quarter of 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics' first estimate. The previous quarter saw GDP grow at a slightly stronger 0.8 per cent. Growth was seen across all four quarters of 2013. That brings year on year real GDP growth up to 2.8 [...]
F&C shares rocket on offer from Canadian bank BMO January 27, 2014 F&C asset management has confirmed press reports from FT Alphaville of a 120p cash bid from Canadian Bank of Montreal (BMO). Current shareholders would also be entitled to a 2p dividend. F&C's board have indicated that they would be likely to accept such an offer, should BMO make a formal approach. Numis analyst David McCann [...]
Graphene condoms and 3 more cutting-edge inventions from UK universities January 27, 2014 The IP Group, set up to bring academic discoveries to market, said today it will spend a further £2.5m on projects trying to uncover practical uses for graphene, extending its tie-up with the University of Manchester Dozens of UK universities have innovation offshoots that aim to find a home for inventions and discoveries from within [...]
Government to invest £10m in community energy projects January 27, 2014 The government will invest £10m to encourage urban communities to develop renewable energy projects, as part of a number of proposals outlined today to help communities keep energy costs down. As well as the £10m urban community energy fund, the government plans to invest £1m to extend a scheme that supports volunteers who help vulnerable [...]
RBS sets aside further £2.9bn for misconduct and misselling January 27, 2014 State-backed bank RBS has put aside a further £2.9bn to cover various claims. That includes £1.9bn to cover various claims and conduct matters, and £465m for PPI and associated costs. That brings cumulative PPI provision to £3.1bn (£2.2bn has been used as of 31 December 2013). The remaining £0.9bn covers approximately 12 months of redress [...]
Food and drink M&A drops as firms hold tight January 27, 2014 The number of deals in the food and drink sector fell for the first time last year since 2009, new research shows, suggesting companies are holding off on acquisitions to focus on strengthening their businesses. Despite the broader economy showing signs of recovery, deal volumes dropped by 21 per cent compared with the previous year, [...]
