Glaxo looks to repurchase up to £2bn shares February 3, 2011 GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) posted a £476m loss for the final three months of 2010, after a $3.5bn (£2.2bn) legal charge over marketing practices. The results compared with a profit of £2.25bn in the final quarter of 2009, but chief executive Andrew Witty remained upbeat, announcing GSK’s intention to buy back up to £2bn in shares. The [...]
Another big year for China starts today February 2, 2011 TODAY is the first day of the Chinese year of the rabbit. And rather like rabbits, the world’s statesmen are caught in the glare of China’s ascent. Economists are falling over each other to predict when China’s nominal GDP will overtake America’s, while foreign policy wonks are weighing the implications. Goldman Sachs reckons it could [...]
Martin Wheatley wins top job at new City watchdog CPMA February 2, 2011 WHEN Martin Wheatley announced his departure from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) he received an ominous send-off. Locals, angered by his ultimate responsibility for regulating loss-making Lehman mini-bonds, gathered outside the watchdog’s offices to play traditional Chinese funeral music while they burned pictures of Wheatley. It appears their prediction of his demise [...]
Panasonic will cut costs as earnings fall in third quarter February 2, 2011 PANASONIC is planning further cost cuts to compete with South Korean rivals including Samsung, after stiff price competition in televisions and a stronger yen hurt its quarterly profit. Panasonic reported an operating profit of 95.36bn yen (£700m) for October to December, lagging an average forecast of 109.1bn yen. The maker of Viera TVs and Lumix [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 31, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WARNING AS BRIBERY LAW DELAYED British companies have been warned that they could be put on an export “blacklist” by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development if the government continues to delay tough new anti-corruption laws. The warning came after Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, signalled on Monday that the implementation of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 31, 2011 HSBC HSBC today announces the appointment of Richard Jablonowski as managing director and head of investment counsellors to its private banking division. Based in London, he will report to Daniel Ellis, managing director and head of the investment group at HSBC private bank. Jablonowski joins from Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management where he spent 11 [...]
Middle East enters critical few days January 30, 2011 WE must all hope that the protests in Egypt – and increasingly, across the Middle East – will lead to a blossoming of democracy and individual liberty in a region scandalously deprived of freedom for so long. There is nothing more uplifting than to see mass uprisings against hated dictators; in moments such as these, [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 30, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BANKS WATCH BARCLAYS’ COCO PLANS Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are weighing whether to follow Barclays as it pushes ahead with a plan to pay bonuses with innovative bonds, dubbed cocos. According to several banks present at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the idea of using contingent convertible [...]
Priced out by foreigners, bankers are on the move January 27, 2011 BONUS season is in full swing and – despite the dire economic figures released earlier this week – there is likely to be no shortage of cash being splashed in the next few months. Recent figures from Savills show that bankers are due to spend £1bn on homes this year. But whereas in the old [...]
Porsche sales in China jump by 63 per cent January 26, 2011 Porsche yesterday announced it has smashed its sales record in China, shifting almost 15,000 vehicles in 2010, an increase of 62.7 per cent on a year earlier. The German carmaker’s four-wheel-drive Cayenne model was the most popular, selling nearly 9,000 units. Sales of sports cars including the iconic 911 and the newer Boxster model rose [...]