Edinburgh Woollen Mill saves 6,000 Peacocks jobs February 22, 2012 British clothing retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill is to acquire two thirds of discount clothing retailer Peacocks, in a deal which will see 6,000 jobs saved. Administrators KMPG said they had agreed the sale of 388 stores from Cardiff-headquartered Peacocks but another 224 stores would be closed immediately, leading to 3,100 redundancies. Peacocks called administrators in [...]
Banks fork out £1.9bn for insurance mis-selling February 22, 2012 Lenders paid out a record £441m in compensation for insurance mis-selling in December, taking payouts for 2011 to £1.9bn and raising the prospect of an even bigger bill this year. The financial regulator said payouts in December jumped 16 per cent from the previous record of £379m in November. Aside from September, there has been [...]
UK is ahead of deficit target February 21, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S deficit reduction plan is well ahead of schedule, with an unexpectedly large surplus in January bringing down the year’s projected borrowing figures, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday. The surplus hit £7.75bn in the month, up from £5.20bn last January, and taking borrowing in the financial year so far [...]
FTSE closes down as doubts remain about Greek bailout February 21, 2012 The FTSE 100 closed down today after investors remained unconvinced by the Greek bailout deal. London’s blue chip index closed down 17.05 points, or 0.3 per cent at 5,928.20, retreating from a seven-month closing high it reached on Monday following high expectations for the Greek deal. Having risen 6.5 per cent since the start of [...]
FTSE Flat as Greek bailout gets the nod February 21, 2012 THE FTSE 100 was broadly flat this morning as Eurozone leaders agreed a second bailout for Greece after weeks of tortuous negotiations. Investors overall were encouraged by the move but there were still fears that the €130bn lifeline was only a short term fix for Greece which is drowning in debt. The deal was largely [...]
China’s monetary easing puts FTSE close to the 6,000 level February 20, 2012 A SURPRISE easing in China’s monetary policy drove Britain’s FTSE 100 within striking distance of a seven and a half month closing high as miners rallied on the prospect of revived demand from the world’s most voracious consumer of raw materials. Miners were the top gainers as London’s blue chip index climbed 40.18 points, or [...]
FTSE up as Greek D-Day arrives February 20, 2012 Miners led the FTSE 100 upwards this morning as China moved to stimulate more growth in its economy and Eurozone chiefs were poised to finally sign a bailout agreement to save Greece. China’s central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves, boosting lending capacity for the second time in nearly three [...]
The truth over board room pay February 20, 2012 REAL pay to non-executive directors of FTSE 100 companies has fallen, according to figures released this morning. Pay in the year to June 2011 rose by a median of four per cent, Incomes Data Services has found – lower than both the main measures of inflation over the period. In the 12 months to June [...]
Balls Brothers owner seeks new investor for expansion February 20, 2012 BALLS BROTHERS part-owner Novus Leisure is on the lookout for a new investor as the bar and club operator seeks to double the size of its London business in a ambitious expansion plan. Current owners Barclays and RBS – who seized control in a debt-for-equity swap that all but wiped out private equity house Cognetas [...]
Hedge funds set to seize Travelodge February 20, 2012 BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge is set to fall into the hands of two US hedge funds as it struggles under the burden of interest payments on its £530m debt pile. Avenue Capital and Golden Tree Asset Management, who are among the major creditors that have bought up its loans, have joined forces with an unnamed [...]