WPP pay boss under fire after backlash over Sorrell’s new deal June 12, 2012 THE HEAD of the remuneration committee at advertising giant WPP faces a protest vote today following the controversial 60 per cent pay rise awarded to chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. Jeffrey Rosen, whose independence has been questioned by shareholder advisory group Pirc, is set to face opposition over his re-election to the board. WPP is [...]
Insurers face hit from floods as severe weather sweeps the UK June 12, 2012 BRITISH insurers face big claims for flooding after the heavy rainfalls across the country this month, making it harder for them to hit profit targets and potentially forcing them to raise premium rates for consumers, analysts said yesterday. Hundreds of people were evacuated in west Wales at the weekend after floods swamped caravan parks and [...]
How an explosive setback put one legal firm on the path to international growth June 5, 2012 TWENTY years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find anyone prepared to bet that Norton Rose – one of London’s oldest City law firm’s – would eventually rank in the top five largest international practices in the world. Unless perhaps you’d asked Peter Martyr, the firm’s group chief executive. Back in 1992, he was [...]
Prudential and Cookson hit by investor revolt May 17, 2012 THE SHAREHOLDER spring yesterday hit insurance giant Prudential, as a third of investors failed to back its remuneration report – while a similar rebellion hit industrial materials group Cookson. More than 30 per cent of Prudential shareholders voted against proposals to hand £29.8m in pay and benefits to seven executive directors at a tense AGM [...]
MPs told pay row hurts RBS price May 15, 2012 POLITICAL interference in the running of Lloyds and RBS will make it hard for taxpayers to break even on the sale of their stakes, shareholders in the banks have told MPs. In a hearing of the Treasury Committee of MPs, Standard Life’s Keith Skoech said that political anti-bank rhetoric has “had knock-on effects… on sentiment”. [...]
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 [...]
Here’s the real Plan B for Britain: We need a competition revolution May 14, 2012 NO ONE can dispute that the UK economy needs more growth. It seems that the coalition’s essential austerity measures are not enough. But despite its cheerleaders, the usual Plan B, based on debt-financed infrastructure spending, won’t make any difference to growth – while denting confidence. One such plan suggested £30bn in spending. Over three years, [...]
Cookson and 888 braced for investor revolt May 13, 2012 A FRESH WAVE of upheaval against excessive executive pay is set to sweep boardrooms this week as industrial group Cookson and online gambling giant 888 Holdings brace themselves for substantial shareholder revolts. Both firms are likely to be hit with a significant vote against their remuneration reports at their annual general meetings this week, despite [...]
Now pay revolt set to move on to William Hill May 7, 2012 WILLIAM Hill is today expected to become the latest major British company to face a shareholder rebellion over its chief executive’s pay package. A series of investors in Britain’s biggest bookmaker are expected to vote against the pay report after a £1.2 retention bonus was set aside for chief executive Ralph Topping. Sources said, however, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 1, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Iron Maiden star runs to the valleys Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has been urging heavy metal fans to “Run to the Hills” since the 1980s, but the rock anthem may be recast as “Run to the Valleys” as he announced plans to open an aviation centre in South Wales that could bring [...]