Why Gatwick Airport’s new chief has Heathrow lined up in his sights October 10, 2010 SOME people need to have a lot on their plates if they are to thrive – and Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s newish boss, is clearly one of these. The 39-year-old took up his post last December when the airport was bought by US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for £1.5bn from Ferrovial-owned airports operator BAA, which [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 4, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EU NATIONS WIN A YEAR’S REPRIEVE ON STATE AID European governments will be allowed to provide soft loans and other concessionary support to their banking and industrial sectors for one more year because of the lingering effects of financial crisis, according Europe’s top competition regulator. But in an interview Joaquín Almunia, European Union [...]
M&C Saatchi expects Xmas adverts boost September 30, 2010 AD AGENCY M&C Saatchi hopes a bumper Christmas for retailers will help it beat full-year expectations. The update came as Saatchi posted a 17 per cent rise for pre-tax profit to £6.3m and the same size sales rise to £58.2m, for the six months to the end of June. The news adds to hopes that [...]
Brazil’s central banker denies a currency war September 28, 2010 BRAZIL’S central bank president Henrique Meirelles yesterday warned that there is a serious problem of competitive currency devaluation among central banks but refused to join the Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega in saying that an international currency war had broken out. Speaking to journalists at the Brazilian ambassador’s Mayfair residence, Meirelles said countries should not [...]
Winterflood backs LSE on rules change September 26, 2010 CITY veteran Brian Winterflood has joined London Stock Exchange (LSE) chief executive Xavier Rolet’s call for the Square Mile to oppose the government’s proposed splitting up of the UK’s share listing regulations. According to an audience member at a Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) dinner last Thursday, Winterflood gave an impassioned speech, calling on all those [...]
Cable wages war on British boardrooms September 21, 2010 VINCE Cable will today launch a scathing attack on British business, announcing a wide-ranging investigation into company takeovers, executive pay and corporate governance. The business secretary will use a keynote speech at the Liberal Democrat conference to wage war on large companies, promising to “shine a harsh light into the murky world of corporate behaviour”. [...]
French authorities fine 11 banks after price-fixing probe September 20, 2010 ELEVEN banks, including UK giant HSBC, were yesterday fined €384.9m (£323m) for colluding to fix the price they charge for handling cheques. The French competition authority found that the banks acted in concert to set interbank cheque fees on 80 per cent of cheques circulating in France between January 2002 and July 2007, during the [...]
Watchdogs face merger as cuts begin September 16, 2010 THE Competition Commission (CC) and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) could merge to form a single oversight body as early as next year, it has emerged. According to the BBC, the coalition government could revive earlier plans by Labour to combine the two market watchdogs. The BBC said that the marriage is currently on [...]
Cable’s power grab threat to share listings September 15, 2010 LONDON’S competitiveness as an attractive company listing destination is in danger of being jeopardised by political gesturing between business secretary Vince Cable and the Treasury, one of the UK’s most senior investment bankers has warned. Sir Laurie Magnus, who was yesterday appointed chairman of Lexicon Partners, said plans to separate the regulation of primary and [...]
LSE boss: help me protect the city September 14, 2010 THE London Stock Exchange’s boss last night called on those involved in the capital raising business to back his campaign against proposed new rules he fears could “severely” impact London’s competitiveness. There are growing fears that the new rules could chase capital raising out of London, robbing the City of much-needed income and jobs. Xavier [...]