London sales are slowed by volcanic ash May 16, 2010 RETAIL sales growth in London has slowed after the ash cloud crisis took its toll, according to the British Retail Consortium. Sales were up 3.6 per cent in April while they had jumped by 5.1 per cent in the same month last year. The volcanic ash cloud which billowed across Europe grounded flights for six [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 11, 2010 Defence Industries Council Ian King, the chief executive of BAE Systems, is to become chairman of the DIC following industry elections. The council represents the UK defence industry in discussions with the MoD, helping to ensure that the best possible equipment and services are provided to the UK armed forces. In his new role, King [...]
What the other papers say this morning May 10, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ABN AMRO ADMITS SANCTIONS BREACH The former ABN Amro, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, on Monday agreed to pay $500m (£337m) in fines as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice and admitted that it willfully and systematically violated US sanctions against Iran, Libya, the Sudan and Cuba. The [...]
Easter timing hits retailers May 10, 2010 THE timing of Easter, combined with consumers’ ongoing uncertainty, caused UK retail sales to fall 2.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis last month compared to April 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today in its monthly retail sales monitor. This year, only two days over Easter fell in April compared to all [...]
Dubai Holding hires advisers May 9, 2010 Companies from Dubai Holding, a conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, have hired advisers including Deloitte, KPMG and PwC as they consider a multibillion dollar debt restructuring.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 9, 2010 KPMG The accountancy firm has appointed Alastair McLeish as UK head of tax and pensions, effective from 1 July. McLeish joined KPMG’s Birmingham office in 1994 and was subsequently appointed in 2003 as head of the pensions advisory group, which he has built up since to encompass over 350 staff and 20 partners. Former UK [...]
Recruitment rise set to spark return to City poaching May 4, 2010 THE recruitment market continued to improve in April, although the pace slowed after reaching a 12-year peak in March, according to a report published yesterday. In its job report, recruitment trade body the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and accountants KPMG said both permanent and short-term staffing continued to increase, showing clear signs of economic [...]
First lady of broking buys out FinnCap May 4, 2010 ONE of the City’s hottest female rising stars has completed a £2.5m management buyout of her firm FinnCap, with the aim of growing it into the broker of choice for small cap companies in London. Chief executive Sam Smith at the weekend sealed a deal to buy back the outstanding 50 per cent of FinnCap [...]
AIM advisers continue to lose business May 3, 2010 ADVISERS have continued to lose AIM-listed clients for the second straight quarter, according to the latest report by Hemscott published today. The AIM Advisers Rankings Guide for quarter two of 2010 shows London’s financial services sectors experiencing further client shrinkage. Analysts said they were not surprised by the figures, following the turmoil the small cap [...]
UK firms hit by new global accounting rules April 29, 2010 PROPOSED changes to global pension accounting rules will make pension costs more volatile at UK firms, exacerbating the impact that pension deficits have on companies experts warned. The International Accounting Standard Board yesterday announced changes to the way pension deficits and surpluses are accounted for, which accountants KPMG forecast could wipe as much as £10bn [...]