FTSE extends gains as talk of takeovers boosts the market July 5, 2011 THE FTSE 100 rose for an eighth straight trading day yesterday, as earnings hopes lifted Tullow Oil and bid talk boosted Reckitt Benckiser. Tullow, up 3.8 per cent, said it expected to post record first-half revenues as it ramped up output in Ghana and also said it was a few weeks away from completing a [...]
C&WW investors alerted July 4, 2011 Cable & Wireless Worldwide shareholders have been warned that the telecoms company’s corporate governance could cause further problems as the firm attempts to right itself following three profit warnings. The Association of British Insurers is thought to have told shareholders that it has concerns over top executives at C&WW standing to gain from the company’s [...]
City ready for role in elderly care funding July 4, 2011 CITY experts welcomed sweeping proposed changes to how care for the elderly is funded yesterday, as they would allow financial services firms to help people meet their costs. Economist Andrew Dilnot (pictured) called for the current system, which forces people with more than £23,250 in assets to fund their care in full, to be scrapped [...]
Dilnot review urges role for finance industry July 4, 2011 A review proposing a radical overhaul of how UK elderly care is funded has called for the financial services industry to help people cover the costs of their contributions. Economist Andrew Dilnot has called for the current system of means testing, which forces people with more than £23,250 in assets to fund their care in [...]
Cable plans to shake up exec pay disclosure June 22, 2011 VINCE Cable, the business secretary, could force firms to change the way they disclose how much their top executives earn as part of plans to overhaul the rules governing annual reports. In a statement, Cable’s Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) department said he wanted to “see progress in bringing excessive, unjustified pay under control”. Next [...]
Cable appoints Kay to head up market review June 21, 2011 VINCE Cable has asked economist John Kay to review Britain’s stock markets, as the business secretary steps up his attack on corporate short termism. Kay, formerly head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, will chair the equity market review, which reports in 2012. As part of the review, Kay will look at how to get [...]
ALL CHANGE AT LLOYD’S AS IT RINGS 25 YEARS May 26, 2011 IT MAY seem like only yesterday for many City veterans, but today marks 25 years since the first managing agents moved into the landmark Lloyd’s building on Lime Street. So happy anniversary to the insurance giant, which still shows traces of more than 300 years of Lloyd’s history, such as the famous Lutine Bell, which [...]
Lloyds branch sale on track amid pay backlash May 18, 2011 Lloyds Bank expects to find a buyer for the 600 branches it has put up for sale by the end of this year, despite concerns that it may have to sell still more in future. The part-nationalised high street bank is pushing ahead with the asset sale dubbed “Project Verde” despite the Independent Commission on [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 15, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● On Monday, Phoenix will release its first quarter trading update. The FTSE 250 insurance group specialises in the management and acquisition of closed life and pension funds. ● On Tuesday, Vodafone releases its final results. Analysts expect profits to be down on 2010 figures. ● There are plenty of AGMs throughout the [...]
Banks take hit on mis-selling May 9, 2011 BRITAIN’S banks bowed to the inevitable and dropped their appeal against the FSA on the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) yesterday, as Barclays and RBS became the latest lenders to reveal multi-million pound bills from the debacle. Barclays said it is putting aside £1bn and RBS £850m to pay compensation to customers who were [...]