LONDON: CLOSED FOR BUSINESS August 9, 2011 SCORES of shops across London were closed for business yesterday as the threat of rioting and looting remained high, and home secretary Theresa May met with industry leaders in an attempt to reassure them that extra efforts were being made to protect retailers. May met with business chiefs yesterday afternoon – including the British Retail [...]
Factory output in unexpected fall August 9, 2011 Factory output fell unexpectedly in June, an unwelcome reminder of the poor state of the country’s economy as it faces new challenges from global financial turmoil and widespread riots in London and other cities. The weak official data followed reports overnight from trade associations of low consumer confidence in the retail and property markets last [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 8, 2011 THE FINANCIAL TIMES IZODIA INVESTORS PURSUE LOST £5.3M Izodia, the multibillion-pound dotcom company at the centre of one of the City of London’s longest-running corporate scandals, has postponed liquidation in the hope that it can recover some of the £5.3m it is still owed. The Daily Telegraph UK FACES CREDIT RATING CUT AND MORE MONEY-PRINTING [...]
Businesses hit by riot threat August 8, 2011 BUSINESS groups in London warned yesterday that ongoing riots in the capital could add to the UK’s economic woes, as more high street stores were vandalised and looted by rioters. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reacted strongly to the outbreaks of vandalism, saying struggling shops would be hit hardest by the damage. “Clearly, with high [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 8, 2011 Santander The retail and commercial bank has promoted Robin Foale, formerly the divisional managing director for corporate and commercial banking in Thames Valley & South West, to managing director for its business banking division. In his new role, Foale will review the services offered to small businesses in Santander’s branch and telephone network. Prior to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTOR IRE SPARKS ICAP PAY REVIEW Icap, the largest interdealer broker, is to undertake a thorough review of its remuneration policy for the first time in eight years. The FTSE 100 group is making the move after a substantial minority protest vote at the annual meeting in mid-July. ONGC EYES SALE OF DEEPWATER [...]
British Land sees asset values jump to almost £10bn August 4, 2011 BRITISH Land, one of the country’s biggest landlords, saw the value of its assets rise as it made more acquisitions and pressed ahead with its £1.1bn office development pipeline that includes the Cheesegrater skyscraper in east London. The property developer said its portfolio value increased by 1.5 per cent to £9.9bn during the quarter, with [...]
Capital & Counties asset value boosted by Covent Garden site August 3, 2011 CAPITAL & Counties, the London focused property developer, posted a four per cent rise in the value of its assets, boosted by an increase in value of its Covent Garden estate. Net asset value per share rose four per cent to 154p, while pre-tax profit was up 28 per cent at £70.2m from £54.8m a [...]
FTSE takes a battering on recovery fears August 3, 2011 Energy companies took a hammering in London today as a renewed investor focus on global economic fragility saw a flight to safety across Europe. The FTSE 100 retreated more than 133 points or 2.3 per cent to close at 5,584.51, levels not seen since November 2010, after confidence in sovereign debt fell again and investors [...]
Service sector growth at four month high August 3, 2011 Activity in the country’s dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in four months in July on strong growth in new business, raising hopes that the economy may pick up despite recent dire news from manufacturers and retailers. However, the services firms also cut jobs, and banks and consumer-facing sectors suffered a drop in [...]