PENSIONS CRISIS AS DEFICITS SOAR August 4, 2009 FTSE 100 companies are running a combined pension deficit of £96bn, the largest ever recorded, a leading firm of consulting actuaries will reveal today. The collapse in stock markets means that the shortfall is more than twice the £41bn recorded a year ago, Lane Clark & Peacock’s (LCP) will say. The financial crisis has also [...]
ITV mulls new chief August 2, 2009 ITV’s board is today due to discuss the candidates short-listed to replace Michael Grade as chief executive, with some analysts expecting an announcement at its interim results on Thursday. HMV chief executive Simon Fox was last week the City’s new favourite to step into Grade’s shoes when he steps down at the end of the [...]
BP boosts FTSE as miners, telecoms and banks surge July 30, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended close to a seven-month high yesterday, as better-than-expected earnings from the likes of BT boosted sentiment, lifting miners, banks and telecoms firms. The FTSE 100 closed up 1.9 per cent, or 84.08 points at 4,631.61 points, the highest level since January 6. The index is up 9 per cent so [...]
BT posts loss but cost cuts boost shares July 30, 2009 BT GROUP posted a 45 per cent drop in first-quarter pre-tax profit yesterday, driven by its loss-making Global Services (GS) division, but said that it had made a good start on meeting its new cost-cutting targets. Shares rose after the group reported pre-tax profit of £272m, on better-than-expected revenues of £5.2m, which were down three [...]
Virgin nets a key deal with Disney’s ESPN July 29, 2009 ESPN, the Disney-owned media group that has picked up live Premier League football rights from the defunct Setanta, yesterday agreed a carriage deal with Virgin Media, the cable company. The deal is similar to Virgin’s previous deal with Setanta, whereby Virgin customers paying for the highest television package will get the channel, which will show [...]
WOMEN LAWYERS IN THE CITY July 28, 2009 CLARE MCCONNELLPARTNER, STEPHENSON HARWOOD AND CHAIR, ASSOC OF WOMEN SOLICITORS SURVEYS continue to show that the progress of women lawyers in the profession, and into partnership, has stalled. Even in the 21st century it is still true that women shoulder the majority of the responsibility for childcare or care of other dependants even when they [...]
UK stocks keep on rallying buoyed by energy climbers July 27, 2009 BUOYANT energy stocks and miners helped Britain’s top share index rise for a record-equalling 11th straight session, though gains were limited by falls on Wall Street after corporate earnings disappointed. The FTSE 100 was up 9.52 points, or 0.2 per cent at 4,586.13, hitting its highest closing level since 5 January. The index has risen [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 27, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES COMPLEXITY IS KEY TO OVERCOMING RECESSIONLord Mandelson, the business secretary, will today announce the allocation of £150bn to fund companies’ advance manufacturing development projects in areas such as aerospace, nuclear engineering components, electronics and microchip designs. Most of it will come from the £750m cash pot set aside by ministers this year to [...]
Results season begins as BT and National Express report July 26, 2009 THE company reporting season gets into full swing this week, with a slew of companies issuing numbers including BP, Shell and BT to name just three FTSE 100 giants. National Express, the rail and coach operator that recently became a takeover target after losing its franchise for the East Coast main line, reports on Thursday [...]
Pharmaceuticals inject more life into the FTSE 100’s rise July 22, 2009 THE FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent yesterday, extending its winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second-quarter results from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. At the close, the index was 12.56 points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 per cent over the past eight sessions. Drug maker Shire was the [...]