What the other papers say this morning – 24 March 2014 March 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Heseltine takes control of Haymarket Michael Heseltine has taken full control of Haymarket, the publishing group he co-founded 50 years ago, as it restructures to move its flagship consumer titles online and expand internationally. The 81-year-old former Conservative politician is betting on a recovery in the fortunes of Haymarket, which made a pre-tax [...]
Budget 2014 showed promise: But it lacked beef for entrepreneurs to really get their teeth into March 23, 2014 YOU CAN’T please all of the people all of the time, particularly if you’re the chancellor of the Exchequer. Even if George Osborne had promised last Wednesday to personally traipse the length and breadth of the country handing out free candyfloss, an obesity pressure group of some sort would have released a statement condemning him. [...]
Annuity market to collapse by £8bn because of rule switch March 20, 2014 SAVERS fleeing the pension annuity market will cause it to collapse by two-thirds over the next 18 months, analysts predict, as the fallout from the Budget continued to hit markets. Barclays analysts said the annuity market could shrink from £12bn a year to just £4bn by September 2015, due to changes announced in the Budget, [...]
Just-Eat curries investor favour for £900m float March 17, 2014 JUST-EAT beefed up its boardroom yesterday with senior hires from BSkyB and Hammerson ahead of a float next month, adding to the swelling ranks of firms looking to list in London. The 13-year-old business, which was founded in Denmark by entrepreneur Jesper Buch, said BSkyB chief financial officer Andrew Griffith would join the firm as [...]
Wishes and predictions for Osborne’s budget March 17, 2014 ■ EY suggests there is little room for the chancellor to make big changes, given the spending constraints he has set for the Treasury, and that the OBR’s adjustments will be small. ■ However, the big four accounting firm expects George Osborne to make a move on the top rate of stamp duty, raising the [...]
Sixteen lenders accused of Libor manipulation March 17, 2014 SOME of the biggest banks across the UK, US and Europe are being sued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the US over claims their traders manipulated Libor interest rates. The regulator is launching legal action against 16 banks, including HSBC, Barclays, RBS, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) [...]
How Co-op may be downgraded if reforms falter March 12, 2014 THE TROUBLED Co-operative Group could lose its credit rating if it does not turn itself around, ratings agency analysts warned yesterday. Its reformist chief executive Euan Sutherland quit this week after failing to win over opponents on the group’s board. Sutherland will not be replaced until Lord Myners has completed his review of the mutual’s [...]
What you need to know before the open March 6, 2014 Europe’s set for a higher open this morning as investors await today’s European Central Bank (ECB) rate meeting. Another weather-related miss for US services, and disappointing ADP payroll numbers didn’t appear to dent activity too much yesterday, and concerns over Ukraine have seemingly been put on the back burner for now. Opinion is somewhat divided [...]
Brit insurance targets £1.1bn April flotation March 4, 2014 SPECIALIST insurer Brit’s private equity owners yesterday announced plans to float 25 per cent of the business on the London stock exchange this April. The group, which currently operates in the Lloyd’s market and specialises in casualty, property and energy insurance, will be selling shares held by existing shareholders – including Apollo and CVC – [...]
Human touch March 2, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks to Lindsay Pattison, UK chief executive at Maxus Global SIR Martin Sorrell decided in 2008 that there was room in the world for another global media network. In October that year, Maxus was born. Current UK chief executive and global chief strategy officer Lindsay Pattison has been credited with humanising and realigning [...]