Inside Track: Co-op board spat highlights need for change March 12, 2014 COMPANIES usually ban the use of social media sites to stop employees idling away work-time on frivolous gossip. In the case of the Co-operative Group, it might have been better advised to put a filter on the internet access of Euan Sutherland, its now-former chief executive. Sutherland took to Facebook on Sunday to denounce the [...]
Meet the UK’s professional mermaids March 12, 2014 LinkedIn, the internet’s answer to a our hatred of networking events, has passed a notable milestone (ahem, as has the internet, “happy 25th birthday internet”). The business-friendly social network now has 15m members in the UK. That’s a relatively impressive 23 per cent of the UK. But what is perhaps more impressive, is the [...]
Co-op Group in turmoil: Sutherland quits and rival factions begin the fight for control March 11, 2014 THE CO-OP was plunged deeper into chaos yesterday as chief Euan Sutherland sensationally quit after just 10 months, inflaming a divisive row over modernising the mutual that threatened to split the board. Sutherland’s exit leaves serious question marks over the business’ future, with his resignation statement pointing to deep divisions at the top of the [...]
Lombard moving to America March 11, 2014 Medical devices company Lombard Medical Technologies is planning to leave the London stock market and rehome with an initial public offering on Nasdaq worth up to $80m. The decision by the Aim-listed company, which specialises in the repair of aneurysms, reflects the attraction of the US market for small medical companies, following an exceptionally strong [...]
London Report: FTSE nudges down to near month-long low after banks fall March 11, 2014 THE UK’S top equity index steadied yesterday after hitting a three-week low, with some investors seeing value in beaten-down stocks, although the market remained vulnerable to further declines in the near term. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.06 per cent lower at 6,685.52 points after falling to 6,660.59, its lowest since the middle of [...]
Consolidate: Don’t let your Isas go to waste March 11, 2014 But be very careful to avoid committing the cardinal sin of losing the tax wrapper on your existing investment With the end of the tax year fast approaching (5 April), the clock is ticking to make the most of your full Isa allowance (currently £11,520, up to half of which can be held in cash). [...]
Here’s why the UK’s food sector has a rocky road ahead March 11, 2014 With some dire Christmas sales, heavy discounting and a ramping up of online shopping, the UK food retail sector feels unloved. That’s according to Barclays, which points out that the UK’s sector is now trading at a clear price-to-earnings discount when compared with continental Europe. It hasn’t always been like this for UK companies. Expansion [...]
Any Other Business – 11/03 March 11, 2014 TODAY marks the start of the horsey-betting-booze fest that is Cheltenham. One City figure who is unlikely to miss a day is former Barclays executive Rich Ricci who has got no fewer than six horses running this week. Noticeably absent from the line-up is Fatcatinthehat, the controversially-named bay gelding the banker entered into the festival [...]
Fidelity slams Barclays over £2.4bn payout March 10, 2014 INVESTOR group Fidelity has become the first City firm to criticise Barclays’ £2.4bn bonus pool for 2013 – an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year, despite a 32 per cent drop in profits. Fidelity’s global chief investment officer Dominic Rossi told Sky News last night: “It is disappointing that a year after [...]
Banks back plan to use mobile numbers to simplify payments March 10, 2014 BANK payments will no longer require sort codes and account numbers as part of a new scheme that uses mobile phone numbers to route payments. The Payments Council yesterday detailed the scheme, called Paym, that launches in May with nine banks onboard including Barclays, Halifax and Santander. By the end of 2014 seven additional banks [...]