Red-faced KPMG says sorry for internal payments error April 30, 2012 ACCOUNTANT KPMG has been forced into an embarrassing apology to staff after the company failed to pay its staff on time. In an ironic twist, KPMG – which is accustomed to dishing out advice to firms on how to manage their own accounting systems – has been caught out itself after an administrative blunder left [...]
FTSE losses limited by Aberdeen April 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 was solid this morning as Aberdeen Asset Management reported a bounce back in client funds, making it the top riser. Investors have been spooked by the Eurozone crisis, which has re-emerged with the debt woes of the likes of Italy and Spain again laid bare. London’s blue chip index has also been [...]
Qatar in investment with Barclays’ resource unit April 30, 2012 Qatar has signed a deal to co-invest $250m (£153m) with Barclays’ natural resources private equity investment unit, underlining the gas-rich Gulf state’s desire to plough some of its commodity wealth back into the sector. The investments in Barclays Natural Resources Investments’ portfolio companies will be done through Qatar Asset Management Company, a joint venture between [...]
Rudd tipped to be offered the chairman’s role at Prudential April 29, 2012 CITY veteran Sir Nigel Rudd has emerged as one of the frontrunners to replace Harvey McGrath as chairman of insurance group Prudential. Rudd, 65, is believed to be up against Glen Moreno, the chairman of publisher Pearson, to replace McGrath later this year. McGrath had become a focus of investor dissent after Prudential’s $35.5bn (£21.8bn) [...]
Top pay under fire at Standard Chartered bank April 29, 2012 STANDARD Chartered is heading for a bust-up over how much it pays its top staff, after investor advisory group Pirc advised its members to vote down the bank’s remuneration report. The bank plans to pay out $92.1m (£56.6m) to its top 13 staff, which includes five board members, for last year. Pirc is thought to [...]
UK restaurant sector to strike £13bn by 2015 April 29, 2012 WHILE Britons continue to tighten their belts in hard economic times, one luxury that few of us seem to be prepared to give up is eating out. A new report by Allegra Strategies and Barclays forecasts that sales across the UK’s branded restaurants are set to grow by 22 per cent to £13.6bn by 2015 [...]
Glencore float fuels wealth of UK’s super rich April 29, 2012 THE wealth of Britain’s richest people, including a series of investors in Glencore, jumped by nearly five per cent to a record £414bn last year, according to new research. The combined assets of the 1,000 most affluent people rose 4.7 per cent, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, despite the nation’s plunge back into [...]
RAPID responses April 29, 2012 Holiday ending [Re: What course should George Osborne take, Thursday] A temporary VAT cut isn’t the answer. It’ll lead to a temporary surge in consumer spending, before falling back when the rate is restored. Similarly, a temporary cut in NIC isn’t a good enough reason for an employer to take on staff. They need to [...]
Barclays shareholders revolt with a quarter voting against executive pay deals April 27, 2012 Barclays chairman Marcus Agius (pictured) has apologised to shareholders for badly communicating its pay policy to them, and promised higher dividends in future in an attempt to take the sting out of a row over the bank’s remuneration policy. More than a quarter of shareholders voted against remuneration packages including a multi-million pound deal for [...]
Credit Suisse hit by shareholder anger over pay April 27, 2012 Almost a third of Credit Suisse shareholders rejected the bank’s pay plan on Friday and UK rival Barclays was braced for a similar revolt as investors vented their fury at executive pay deals and called for a bigger slice of profits. Credit Suisse said 31.6 pct of investors who voted opposed the bank’s remuneration plan, [...]