HSBC pay plan opposed by 10 per cent of shareholders May 25, 2012 HSBC’s pay plan for directors was opposed by 10.2 per cent of shareholders at the bank’s annual meeting today, less than the previous year as Europe’s biggest bank avoided the kind of shareholder backlash seen by competitors. HSBC said 86.3 per cent of votes cast were in favour of the resolution on remuneration while 13.7 [...]
Bargain hunters help lift FTSE May 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 nosed up this morning as bargain hunters snapped up stocks which have been hit in recent sessions. On Monday the blue chip index was at a six-month low but has clawed back ground since then. Gains in Asia and on Wall Street overnight also served to lift sentiment. Insurer Aviva was the [...]
FTSE enjoys some breathing space as bargain-hunters prompt gains May 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index recovered yesterday from stinging losses during the previous session as bargain hunters snapped up beaten-down financial and commodities stocks, although traders said any rally could prove short-lived. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 83.64 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 5,350.05 points. It fell 2.5 per cent on Wednesday to [...]
Celebrate the open power of the 2012 Olympic truces on tax and visas May 24, 2012 THE Olympic flame is making its way around the length and breadth of Britain, a vivid symbol of one of the key values of the ancient Games: freedom of movement. Before the games at Olympia, a truce was declared so that officials and athletes could make their way to the Games without hindrance or legal [...]
Sole has the Power to win Temple Stakes again May 24, 2012 SOLE POWER did this column a massive favour 12 months ago when landing Haydock’s Group Two Temple Stakes and he looks to hold solid claims of notching back-to-back wins tomorrow afternoon (3.00pm) in the next instalment of the QIPCO British Champions Series. Eddie Lynam’s five-year-old never got the credit he deserved for winning the Nunthorpe [...]
Title would cap Robshaw year, says Healey May 24, 2012 HARLEQUINS captain Chris Robshaw will crown the most remarkable individual season ever if he leads the south Londoners to their first Premiership title tomorrow at Twickenham, says former England star Austin Healey. In a whirlwind few months Robshaw has been plucked from the international wilderness to become the central figure in Stuart Lancaster’s new-look England [...]
Skipper urges Quins to relax as history knocks May 24, 2012 HARLEQUINS skipper Chris Robshaw has urged his troops to adopt a no-fear attitude as they attempt to claim their first Aviva Premiership title by beating Leicester tomorrow. Quins scraped through a semi-final against Northampton 25-23 thanks to a 76th minute push-over try by prop Joe Marler, which was converted by fly-half Nick Evans. Harlequins trailed [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 23, 2012 Freshfields Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the law firm, has appointed Silvia Paternain as head of its global tax practice. She succeeds Colin Hargreaves, who is returning to focus on client work full time. Paternain joined the firm in 1998 and was elected to the partnership in 2004. She specialises in corporate cross-border transactions. Sirius Minerals The [...]
No more rewards for failure – how to claw back pay May 23, 2012 ONE by one, companies with either sub-par performance or poor compensation plans have been brought to account by shareholders. The most spectacular of these was at Aviva where Andrew Moss, recently stood down, but there have been major revolts at William Hill, Pendragon and Trinity Mirror. All of this has been achieved without one bit [...]
Tesco’s Philip Clarke waives annual bonus May 22, 2012 PHILIP CLARKE, Tesco’s chief executive, said he would forgo his £372,000 annual bonus after the retailer’s weak UK performance last year prompted its first profit warning in 20 years. “I decided at the beginning of the year that I would decline my annual bonus for 2012,” Clarke said in a statement yesterday. “I wasn’t satisfied [...]