PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 24, 2010 PAY BY CARD TO GAIN REWARDS Savvy shoppers could earn substantial rewards by whacking all their day-to-day spending on the plastic. Based on an average household spend of £386.30 per week on a reward credit card, and by paying off the balance in full each month, Confused.com research shows after just one year, some of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 24, 2010 Hogan Lovells The law firm has boosted its banking team by hiring Stuart Brinkworth from rival SJ Berwin. Brinkworth is a partner at SJ Berwin, where he specialises in leveraged buy-outs, public bids, trade purchases and recapitalisations. He recently acted on key deals including advising lenders to Manchester City FC in connection with the £210m [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NISSAN’S GHOSN TOPS JAPAN PAY LEAGUE Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn has taken top spot on a list of Japan’s best-paid executives after the carmaker revealed it paid its Brazil-born chief executive Y890m ($9.9m) last year. Nissan and other quoted Japanese companies are being forced to report the compensation of individual executives for the first [...]
Iconic Battersea site primed for flotation June 23, 2010 DEBT-LADEN property firm Real Estate Opportunities (REO) will pursue a de-merger of London’s deteriorating Battersea power station, it said as it reported losses of almost £1bn yesterday. The landmark, Europe’s largest brick building, has been derelict for more than a quarter of a century and is in need of financing for redevelopment. REO said it [...]
Great progress on the deficit – but far too many unnecessary tax hikes June 22, 2010 WE?were told to expect a tough Budget, with lots of pain, and that was exactly what we got. Many of the policies announced were necessary; others, however, are clearly misguided. On balance, however, this Budget will leave Britain in a stronger position –?not something that could usually be said of the previous government’s efforts. George [...]
QUICKIE DIVORCES GET QUICKER WITH HELP OF NEW IPHONE APP June 21, 2010 FIRST we had divorce “gift vouchers”, with a company charging £125 for half an hour with a lawyer; now, it’s divorce apps for your iPhone. Dallas-based company Brainwash already offers one divorce application in its range – a “Cost & Prep” product for just under ten dollars, explaining to would-be divorcees how much it costs [...]
TASTING NOTES June 21, 2010 ANYONE who is a caffeine refusnik like me will know the envy that comes from watching colleagues fortify themselves on a bleak, thankless morning with weapons-grade coffee. I can’t stand the taste of either coffee or tea, but I long for something more tempting than Lucozade to give me the kind of boost caffeine drinkers [...]
Brit waits for higher Apollo bid June 20, 2010 Shareholders in Brit Insurance, the Lloyd’s of London company, are waiting to see if US private equity player Apollo will raise its £770m buyout bid this week. Brit Insurance’s largest investors have dismissed Apollo’s offer of £10 per share as speculative, suggesting they want at least £11 per share.
FSA looks into leaked buyout offer for Brit June 17, 2010 BRIT Insurance, the Lloyd’s of London outfit, has asked the City watchdog to investigate the leaking of a £785m takeover offer for the business from US private equity group Apollo. Brit’s board, led by chief executive Dane Douetil and chaired by John Barton, is said to be concerned after news of an anonymous approach was [...]
Seventh straight rise for FTSE 100 as BP bounces on US compensation deal June 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index rose for the seventh consecutive day yesterday, led by BP after its compensation deal with the White House, but gains were held in check by weak US jobs data hitting commodity-linked stocks. The FTSE 100 was up 15.97 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,253.89, to close at its highest since [...]