THE WEEK AHEAD February 26, 2012 Today A diverse group of FTSE 100 reporters will kick off a busy week in the corporate calendar this morning, with banking giant HSBC likely to be top of many investors’ watch list. Analysts are expecting the bank’s geographical diversity to offset any potential weakness in it investment banking division, with profits expected to hit [...]
Donating organs could prove a costly decision February 14, 2012 NEVER make yourself worth more dead than alive. This was the sage advice my father gave me as a boy and I have stuck to it ever since. That is why my life insurance pays out less if I die than the net present value of my likely future earnings. I trust my wife, but [...]
Cameron calls on insurers to cut premiums February 13, 2012 DAVID Cameron will today announce plans to reduce insurance premiums by cutting red tape, reducing legal bills and tackling the high number of spurious claims. Proposals include a plan to reduce the number of whiplash claims by enforcing a higher evidence threshold for injuries and cutting the £1,200 fee that lawyers can earn for small [...]
EU plan risks final salary pension deals February 13, 2012 EUROPEAN plans aimed at protecting pension pots will destroy final salary schemes in the UK and cost businesses hundreds of billions of pounds, a consortium of industry and labour bodies warned yesterday. In a letter to EC boss Jose Manuel Barroso, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and National Association of [...]
Stelios stays away from crucial shareholders’ pay row meeting February 12, 2012 EASYJET chairman Sir Michael Rake hit back last night after shareholder advisory body PIRC recommended that investors veto the airline’s remuneration report and abstain from re-electing him as chairman. Sir Michael said easyJet “was not surprised by PIRC’s recommendation given its well-documented position on remuneration” and pointed out that in the last year, the body [...]
EasyJet wins bonus support February 8, 2012 EASYJET’S war of words with major shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou shows no signs of a cease-fire as the no-frills airline approaches its shareholder meeting later this month. The carrier yesterday welcomed support from the Association of British Insurers and investor group ISS for its executive pay package. Advice from these influential groups gives easyJet a [...]
We must resist a tax that isn’t FTT for purpose February 6, 2012 AS THE European Parliament held its public hearing on the proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) on Monday, the battle positions were clearly drawn. For the Eurozone, an FTT represents a smallish subsidy to repair damaged national balance sheets; for the UK, the adoption of an FTT would represent a massive drag on the country’s economic [...]
Regulator now costs £580m February 2, 2012 THE CITY regulator has demanded an extra £80m from the firms it supervises in order to cover a 16 per cent rise in costs in the run-up to its abolition. The Financial Services Authority, which admitted several failures in the period leading up to the financial crisis, said it would need £578.4m for 2012-13, up [...]
Insurers demand state support for flood cover January 31, 2012 THE ASSOCIATION of British Insurers (ABI) has warned that up to 200,000 households in England and Wales will struggle to obtain flood insurance when a voluntary agreement ends next summer. The organisation is urging the government to act fast and develop an insurance solution for homes that are considered to be at “high risk” of [...]
Mitchells & Butlers sales better than forecast January 26, 2012 Restaurants and pubs group Mitchells & Butlers reported a better than expected first quarter sales rise, benefiting from milder weather over the Christmas and New Year period and strong demand for casual dining. The company, whose chains include Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said it was confident of further growth in the year [...]