London rises as miners and energy companies set pace March 1, 2010 LONDON’S top share index rose one per cent yesterday as big gains from miners and energy stocks, boosted by firmer commodity prices, outpaced faltering banks following disappointing results from HSBC. The FTSE 100 closed 51.42 points higher at 5,405.94 points, having hit a five-week high earlier in the session of 5,420.83. The index has rebounded [...]
M&S boss in new pressure to cut salary February 28, 2010 MARKS & Spencer’s (M&S’s) joint chief executive and chairman Sir Stuart Rose has seen renewed investor demands to reduce his pay in the latest shareholder salvo against executive pay deals. Rose, who assumed the joint title of chairman and chief executive last year, could see his £1.13m salary reduced by investors after an ongoing and [...]
HSBC’s chief gives up £4m February 28, 2010 HSBC boss Michael Geoghegan will announce plans today to hand over his multi-million pound bonus to charity as the banking giant reveals annual results. Geoghegan, who was is understood to have been in line to receive a £4m payout, will donate his bonus to charity after the bank’s strong 2009 performance. HSBC’s annual profits are [...]
The law firm boss who says his US merger is set to take on the world February 28, 2010 For a man weeks away from the biggest deal of his life, Lovells’ managing partner David Harris has a remarkably light air about him. On 1 May the City institution – it can trace its history back to 1899 – will merge with US rival Hogan Hartson to create one of the world’s largest law [...]
Just £1.3bn bonus pot … but more than 100 will get £1m February 25, 2010 More than 100 Royal Bank of Scotland bankers will receive bonuses of more than £1m. The news comes as RBS announced it will pay out just £1.3bn in bonuses this year – the lowest compensation ratio in the industry. The ratio is set at just 27 per cent, far below the 38 per cent revealed [...]
CIBC and National Bank of Canada deliver stronger than expected growth February 25, 2010 TWO of Canada’s big banks kicked off earnings season with stronger-than-expected growth in profits yesterday, setting the stage for a rise in bank shares and upping the ante for rivals’ profits next week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said profit more than quadrupled in the first quarter, helped by volume growth in its retail markets [...]
London’s top shares tumble as oil and mining companies slip February 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell 1.2 per cent yesterday, sliding back in the afternoon in tandem with New York stocks, with miners and oils the main drag as commodity prices fell back pressured by a firmer US dollar. By the close, the FTSE 100 index was 64.69 points lower at 5,278.23, reversing again after Wednesday’s 0.5 [...]
High street sales bounce back February 25, 2010 HIGH street spending bounced back this month as shoppers returned in force for the first time since the big freeze. The quarterly Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report showed that 46 per cent of retailers said business was up in February 2010 compared with the same period last year. Sales of clothes and household goods [...]
Banks boost FTSE on hopes that RBS results bring cheer February 24, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by banks and echoing gains on Wall Street as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke assuaged fears of an earlier than expected interest rate rise. The FTSE 100 ended 27.83 points higher at 5,342.92 buoyed by the Fed chairman’s statement and after it had closed 0.7 [...]
Meet the man who would be king: a radical dressed in Liberal clothing February 23, 2010 THE Liberal Democrats have never held much sway in the City. Their traditional supporters prefer a sleepy, polite way of life – not the cut and thrust of the Square Mile. If the opinion polls are to be believed, however, Nick Clegg is set to play the role of kingmaker in a hung parliament after [...]