Co-op granted licence to sell legal services March 28, 2012 CO-OPERATIVE Legal Services has become the first alternative business structure (ABS) to launch in the UK after being officially approved by regulators, along with a pair of regional solicitors’ firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said yesterday it had licensed the Co-operative Group subsidiary, Oxford-based John Welch and Stammers, and Lawbridge Solicitors in Kent as [...]
ANALYST VIEWS CAN WOLSELEY WEATHER THE TOUGH EUROPEAN CONDITIONS? March 27, 2012 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNE Sales for the group’s biggest division have slowed, while comparatives are becoming more challenging. Furthermore, recent US housing data provides room for caution…On the upside, its finances have been well and truly stabilised, whilst the group continues to be re-positioned. HOWARD SEYMOUR NUMIS Good interim results prompt increased forecasts and target [...]
Future energy demand requires planning now March 25, 2012 AS THE financial year draws to a close, and with a degree of stability in financial markets, we can now think about the longer-term future of the City and London’s financial services. The findings of the City of London’s latest research report, published in partnership with London First and the City Property Association, highlight the [...]
UPS finally closes in on €5bn deal to buy rival TNT Express March 18, 2012 US DELIVERY company UPS has finally clinched a €5bn (£4.2bn) deal to buy TNT Express, a Dutch rival. The valuation of its European counterpart is an increase of at least 50 cents on UPS’s offer of €9 per share in February, which was rejected. That was already a hike from an offer of €8.25 a [...]
UK competition reforms get a mixed response March 15, 2012 LAWYERS yesterday welcomed the government’s proposals to reform the UK’s competition regime, but warned that new anti-cartel rules would make it easier to prosecute those involved in price fixing. Under plans launched by business minister Norman Lamb yesterday, a new UK competition authority will not be required to prove dishonesty in an individual involved in [...]
We mustn’t mourn the end of encyclopaedias March 15, 2012 AS A boy, I remember being taken to the local library and taught to use the dark, weighty volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. As of now, that dates me. A “digital native”, someone to whom the modern information revolution comes naturally, is often defined as a person who has never owned a camera that needs [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES FINANCIAL AUTHORITY URGED TO DROP OPAQUE CHARGES The new Financial Conduct Authority should use its powers to remove opaque banking charges and make it cheaper for new lenders to enter the market, a panel that represents the interests of retail customers has urged. In a paper to be published today, the Financial Services [...]
Simon Collins wins vote for KPMG chair March 12, 2012 KPMG’s new UK chairman elect Simon Collins yesterday vowed to put his firm at the centre of the debate on how to win back trust in the financial services sector, as he celebrated his election victory against two better known rivals Oliver Tant and Alan Buckle. Collins, who is currently global head of KPMG’s transactions [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CURRENCY TRADING VOLUMES DROP Volumes in the world’s multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange market have dropped to six-year lows as nervous investors have shied away from trading the euro and central banks have continued to maintain a tight grip on the value of their currencies. SOCGEN TO FACE REGULATOR PROBE Société Générale is to [...]
Deadline set for private holders of Greece’s debt February 26, 2012 A DEADLINE of 8 March – next Thursday – has been set for private holders of Greek debt to participate in the proposed bond swap, required to significantly cut the struggling state’s debt burden. The debt swap is a crucial part of Greece’s latest bailout, which is expected to see the Mediterranean country receive a [...]