FTSE weak as investors eye G20 November 3, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked falls in Asia as leaders of the world’s biggest economies gathered in France for a G20 summit set to be dominated by the threat of Greece falling out of the Eurozone. The leaders of France and Germany, angered at Greece’s shock move to call a referendum on its latest bail-out plan [...]
Quitting at the top is a very rare occurrence November 2, 2011 CHIEF executives stepping down for health reasons are a rare breed, despite their gruelling schedules and the intense pressure mounted on them. Andy Hornby’s departure from Alliance Boots less than a year after accepting the job shocked the business world. Executive chairman Stefano Pessina later revealed Hornby was suffering from stress and had probably returned [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 2, 2011 Brookfield Asset Management The property, renewable power and infrastructure asset manager has appointed Julian Schiller as senior vice president in the global private funds group in London. He will look after European and Middle Eastern investors and assist in broader business development for the real estate group, working alongside Barry Blattman and Martin Jepson. Schiiler [...]
Double dip in industry may be avoidable November 1, 2011 MANUFACTURING output has continued to expand in the US, China and India, purchasing managers’ indices out yesterday revealed, though the UK, Brazil, Taiwan and South Korea all registered declines in October. Analysts believe a global manufacturing recession may be avoided. International data from Markit, and US data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is [...]
THE SHOW MUST GO ON SAYS FOREX FINANCIER November 1, 2011 DIGITAL downloads decimating album sales, Russian born tycoon Len Blavatnik poised to swoop on the UK’s last major domestic music label – it’s fair to say the music industry has seen better days. Here to help the sector’s financially challenged artistes make the most of their remaining revenue sources – touring, merchandise and ticket sales [...]
Bank CEOs hit back at ethics accusations November 1, 2011 BANK chiefs clashed with a committee of MPs and peers yesterday to defend the industry from what they called unfounded “generalisations”. Responding to an accusation from the Conservative peer Lord Maples that the crisis had involved “a failure of ethics… particularly within investment banking”, Barclays chief Bob Diamond said that the query was rife with [...]
House prices rise but market remains weak November 1, 2011 House prices rose in October but have fallen slightly over the past three months as difficult economic conditions kept the market under pressure, Nationwide has said. The building society’s house price index showed prices gained 0.4 per cent in the past month – the strongest monthly gain since February, and higher than September’s 0.1 per [...]
Greek referendum bombshell hits markets November 1, 2011 Markets were plunged into renewed gloom today as Greece sent shockwaves through the Eurozone by announcing that it would hold a referendum on the bloc’s action plan to tackle the debt crisis. The renewed uncertainty hit banks while commodities were also dented by disappointing manufacturing data out of China. Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics [...]
AVB still defiant after his nightmare week October 31, 2011 Chelsea boss stands by his methods as QPR star Ferdinand reveals “strong feelings” over his clash with Terry, by James Goldman CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas admits he and his side have endured “a disastrous week” but insists he is still on course to produce a side capable of winning the Premier League. The past eight [...]
Profits edge up at Barclays October 31, 2011 BARCLAYS surprised investors by booking a rise in profits in all but one of its businesses yesterday. Stripping out the effect of accounting gains and one-off provisions, its quarterly pre-tax profits rose five per cent on last year to £1.27bn despite earnings halving in its biggest division, Barclays Capital. Profits more than doubled in its [...]