The boardroom debate needs to move beyond gender April 10, 2014 WEAK and ineffectual boards are a risk to the health of their companies and to the whole UK economy. As the Flowers chairmanship of Co-op Bank showed, a board that does not contain the right mix of skills and experience will not be able to prevent mistakes from happening. We need financial and technical experts [...]
Shareholders to vote on bosses’ pay across EU April 9, 2014 SHAREHOLDERS across the EU will get more power over executives’ pay packages, after the European Commission backed rules for a binding vote on remuneration. The move brings the rest of the EU more closely in line with British practices – in the UK, investors were given a legal say on pay last year. Listed companies [...]
Russian gold glitters in face of Ukraine conflict March 17, 2014 The geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine are boosting the gold price and benefitting Russian miners, according to Canaccord Genuity today. The broker has upgraded its recommendations on Russian gold producers Polymetal International and Petropavlovsk to “buy”, as a result of its bullish view on the yellow metal and a weaker currency, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 17/03 – Science startups, Best of Twitter March 16, 2014 Science startups [Re: Why Britain’s scientists are failing at business, Friday] Tim Farron is right to highlight some of the challenges facing all entrepreneurs in this country, but the idea that Britain’s scientific community is failing at business is simply not accurate. Reports estimate that UK universities produced more than 3,000 companies in 2011. And [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 13 March 2014 March 12, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES HS2 chairman finds £1.5bn savings The new head of HS2 has identified at least £1.5bn in potential cost savings in London alone from the project’s £50bn budget but will warn MPs that the best way to save money on the line is to build it faster than planned. Sir David Higgins took over [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 10 March 2014 March 10, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Spotify’s credit line hints at IPO Spotify has secured a $200m credit facility from lenders including Morgan Stanley, bringing the Swedish music company a step closer to a potential initial public offering in the US, according to people close to the deal. The Stockholm start-up, which last year sold equity that implied a [...]
Exclusive: German Grand Prix could vanish from F1 calendar, says Ecclestone March 5, 2014 FORMULA One boss Bernie Ecclestone has warned that the future of the German Grand Prix is in doubt after he failed with a $50m (£30m) bid for the historic Nurburgring. The track, which alternates with Hockenheim as the race’s venue, has been up for sale since May after a $370m redevelopment, including mall, hotel and [...]
Exclusive: German Grand Prix could vanish from F1 calendar, says Ecclestone March 4, 2014 FORMULA One boss Bernie Ecclestone has warned that the future of the German Grand Prix is in doubt after he failed with a $50m (£30m) bid for the historic Nurburgring. The track, which alternates with Hockenheim as the race’s venue, has been up for sale since May after a $370m redevelopment, including mall, hotel and [...]
New Vatican financial overseers February 24, 2014 Pope Francis has announced sweeping changes to the Vatican’s bureaucracy, including a new secretariat for the economy to supervise financial affairs. Australian Cardinal George Pell has been named prefect of the new economics secretariat. He will report to a new 15-member economy council made up of eight cardinals reflecting various parts of the world and [...]
Nigerian central bank governor suspended four months before term ends February 20, 2014 The President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the governor of the country's central bank Lamido Sanusi. Sanusi, who was due to end his term in June, alleged in the Financial Times last week that the massive shortfall in Nigeria's crude oil earnings were due to gross mismanagement of the country's oil wealth. Earlier this [...]