ADVISERS BARCLAYS March 29, 2012 CO-HEAD M&A MATTHEW Ponsonby, co-head of mergers and acquisitions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa is one of the key players on the team advising International Power (IP). The bank hired Ponsonby in 2009 to set up an M&A team in Europe, and he has since led a team advising car rental company Avis [...]
Maybe the co-operative model isn’t so good after all March 29, 2012 PSST. Don’t tell Nick Clegg, but “co-operative” is not a byword for success. Earlier this year, the deputy prime minister said he wanted Britain to become a “John Lewis economy”, in reference to the firm’s employee-owned structure. Yet there are just two major co-ops in the UK. John Lewis, the patron saint of retailers, is [...]
Ken promises to freeze the congestion charge March 29, 2012 KEN Livingstone yesterday launched his transport manifesto with a pledge to keep the congestion charge at £10 for the next four years. The Labour mayoral candidate also confirmed that he would not reintroduce the charge’s controversial western extension zone, even though he thinks Boris Johnson was wrong to scrap it. Promising a “better deal for [...]
FTSE 100 dragged lower as fears of fresh slump weigh on bank shares March 29, 2012 HEIGHTENED worries over global economic growth, after more disappointing data from America and the UK, dragged Britain’s leading shares lower yesterday, with energy and banking stocks taking the biggest hit. The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.96 points or 1.2 per cent at 5,742.03, extending its falls into a third straight session and reaching a [...]
Mining gains offset retail weakness March 29, 2012 The FTSE was broadly flat in early trading with a bounce back in the mining sector helping to offset weaknesses among blue chip retailers like Marks & Spencer. Official figures which yesterday saw the UK’s GDP figures revised down have hit investor sentiment while energy stocks are coming under pressure from volatile oil prices. But [...]
Shawbrook to ramp up lending after buying asset finance firm March 28, 2012 SHAWBROOK, the new business bank chaired by former RBS boss Sir George Mathewson, is set to grow this year after snapping up an asset finance business from the administrators of Icelandic lender Kaupthing. It has bought Singers Asset Finance, a major provider of finance to NHS trusts and small and medium sized enterprises, which did not [...]
PPI sales chaos triggers a spike in complaints March 28, 2012 A SURGE in public anger over payment protection insurance (PPI) has helped push up complaints about financial institutions more than a fifth to 2.26m. Complaints about the controversial method of cover jumped 85 per cent to nearly 980,000 in the second half of last year, according to the Financial Services Authority. The total paid out [...]
Most UK firms want to create jobs this year March 28, 2012 BUSINESSES are eager to hire more staff, a survey showed yesterday – but they do not think ex-public sector workers have the skills needed for private sector work. Fifty-eight per cent of companies told Barclays’ job creation survey they plan to create jobs over the next 12 months, almost unchanged from the 57 per cent [...]
French GDP grinds to a halt as household incomes stagnate March 28, 2012 FRENCH economic growth slowed to a crawl at the end of 2011, official data confirmed yesterday. GDP edged up by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of the year, slightly slower than the 0.3 per cent gain in the previous three-month period. For the year as a whole the economy expanded 1.7 per cent, [...]
Smash open your Isa’s full potential March 28, 2012 INDIVIDUAL savings accounts (Isas) are a success story of financial marketing. Most are aware of them, many use them, and a great number understand their tax benefits. As the tax year ends on 5 April, everyone should now ensure they take full advantage. Despite Isas piercing the public consciousness, some investors don’t make the most [...]