LORD MAYOR STEPS UP SECURITY FOR AMBASSADORS’ RECEPTIONS November 24, 2011 IT HAD to be the Queen. “No-one else has that level of police presence,” said one City observer when he noted a convoy of four police motorbikes and two impressive cars making its way towards the Walbrook Building in stately fashion. But no – it was Lord Mayor David Wootton, who had stepped up his [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOSTOCK IN TALKS TO QUIT M&S FOR ASOS Kate Bostock, the head of Marks and Spencer’s clothing and homewares business, is in advanced talks to take up a senior role at Asos. People familiar with the situation said Bostock was talking to the online fashion retailer about becoming its managing director. Losing Bostock, [...]
Lloyds gets rid of half its holding in Thomas Cook November 23, 2011 THOMAS COOK’S largest stakeholder has ditched almost half of its shares, a day after the crisis-hit tour operator asked its bank lenders to come to its rescue for the second time in five weeks. Lloyds Banking Group sold around £4m worth of shares, shrinking its stake in the company from 8.96 to 4.67 per cent, [...]
Lloyd’s to cut up to 60 staff November 23, 2011 LLOYD’S Corporation, the agency that manages the iconic London insurance market, could make up to 60 of its staff redundant in the next year as it squeezes its budget, it revealed yesterday. In a letter to the more than 50 Lloyd’s managing agents on Monday, the Corporation said it would cut its budget by eight [...]
FTSE lower as Eurozone business activity slows November 23, 2011 Investors remained hesitant today as grim new data on private sector activity around the world raised fresh fears of a recession in Europe at the end of this year. Asian markets closed lower after purchasing managers’ index data from China saw activity slump to the lowest level in more than two and a half years, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NOMURA STEPS UP ASSET SALE PLANS Nomura has approached big private equity firms about the possible sale of domestic businesses, including its real estate arm, as the Japanese bank moves to shore up its capital buffers. Several people familiar with the preliminary talks with parties including KKR and TPG said the bank was [...]
FTSE slumps to seven-week low on further euro unease November 22, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares index hit a seven-week closing low yesterday, led lower by energy stocks on worries slower US growth would crimp demand for crude while Commerzbank’s funding concerns hit Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. The US economy grew more slowly than previously expected in the third quarter, and the news hurt [...]
FTSE bounces but travel firms suffer November 22, 2011 Stability in Eurozone bond yields and short-term bargain-hunting gave London stocks some momentum today but investors remained wary after six previous sessions of losses. US markets closed down last night after the bipartisan committee nominated to find $1.2 trillion (£764m) of government spending cuts admitted it could not agree on a plan. Asian markets also [...]
FTSE slides to a six-week low over Eurozone debt worries November 21, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 slid to its lowest close in six weeks, with worries mounting over the health of the global economy as the US and Europe wrestled with their respective debt problems. London’s blue chip index fell 140.34 points, or 2.6 per cent to 5,222.60 yesterday, its sixth straight day of losses and adding to [...]
FTSE tumbles on US and Europe debt fears November 21, 2011 UK and European stocks fell today as the failure of a US government committee to agree on sweeping spending cuts revived fears over out-of-control sovereign debt. The bipartisan US congressional committee is expected to admit today that it cannot agree on a plan to cut back spending by $1.2 trillion (£760m) over the next decade [...]