Investors call for annual strategy meetings with chief executives December 3, 2013 THE BOSSES of major listed companies should meet investors for an annual strategy meeting as well as the standard AGM, the Collective Engagement Working Group of institutional investors said yesterday. The institutional investors argue the strategy meeting will focus the executives’ minds on long term results, balancing out the short-term focus that comes with quarterly financial [...]
Economic growth boosts hopes for tax giveaways December 1, 2013 GEORGE Osborne could have more room for tax cut giveaways as the economy recovers, analysts predicted ahead of Thursday’s Autumn Statement. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expected to reveal Osborne is ahead of previous forecasts on cutting the deficit, opening the way for him to consider loosening the purse strings. The OBR is [...]
There’s much more to the financial services industry than London November 20, 2013 THE FRUITS of Britain’s banking industry stretch well beyond the Square Mile and Canary Wharf. This morning, for example, I will be speaking to members of Manchester’s business community. When it comes to picking impressive banking hubs, you may not think of the northern city that gave us Thomas de Quincey, Emmeline Pankhurst and the [...]
City Moves for 08 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2013 Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors has announced the appointment of James Sproule as chief economist and head of policy. Sproule was most recently at Accenture, where for the past seven years he led the firm’s UK and global capital markets research, and its thought leadership programme. Prior to that, Sproule was director of research [...]
Punch Taverns sets the date for its third restructuring proposal November 4, 2013 PUNCH Taverns said yesterday that it will announce a fresh plan next month to restructure its £2.4bn debt pile after lenders rejected two earlier proposals put forward by the pub group’s board. Punch, which has over 4,000 pubs in the UK, has already warned that it could be unable to continue trading unless a deal [...]
Insured loss from St Jude storm to reach up to $1.8bn in Europe November 4, 2013 INSURERS will have to pay out up to €1.3bn (£1.1bn) in claims after the storm that swept through northern Europe in late October, broker Willis Re estimates. Northern Europe was battered by hurricane strength winds between 27-29 October, with Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany bearing the brunt of the damage to property. [...]
London Report: Recovery looks on track in busy reporting week November 3, 2013 SERVICES figures due out this week, plus the latest updates on industrial and manufacturing production, look set to show continued recovery for the British economy. “September’s industrial production figures are likely to show that overall output partially recovered from its surprise 1.1 per cent monthly fall in August,” said Martin Beck, of Capital Economics. “Manufacturing [...]
City Moves for 31 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 30, 2013 European Wealth The wealth management business has announced the hire of Martin O’Grady as an associate director in its investment management division. He was most recently at Barclays, where he was a member of its UK and Ireland high net worth team. PwC The professional services firm has made two appointments to its energy and low [...]
Alternative finance could liberate UK SMEs if regulators lift the speed limit October 21, 2013 THE ARGUMENT about banks and the adequacy (or not) of their lending to small businesses has raged on for about four years. It is a length of time comparable with the duration of the First World War, and this is a depressingly appropriate comparison. For all the thousands of rhetorical shells fired by both sides [...]
Watchdog sinks its teeth into pension funds September 19, 2013 THE UK’S trading watchdog yesterday laid the ground for a root and branch overhaul of workplace pensions after a study said that the current system is ripping off some savers. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which aims to protect consumers, said pensions were too complicated for many people to understand and employers running pension [...]