Pressure piled back on banks amid Eurozone gloom September 19, 2011 World markets slumped today as the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis appeared to be deepening as German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a regional election defeat which undermined her power. With the world looking to Germany to help steer the Eurozone out of stormy economic waters the confidence of investors was sapped. Meanwhile a series of meetings [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 18, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FEARS OVER RETREAT ON VOLCKER BANK RULES The Volcker rule, which bans US banks from trading for their own account, is set to include exemptions that some officials fear will weaken its impact, people familiar with the situation have warned. In the wake of UBS’s $2.3bn (£1.4bn) loss last week, alleged to have [...]
Debenhams eyeing web sales growth September 18, 2011 DEBENHAMS will issue its first results under new boss Michael Sharp tomorrow with an added emphasis expected to be placed on online growth. The figures for the fourth quarter come as UK retailers face headwinds as household budgets are squeezed. Analysts are expecting the chain to focus on its international growth – particularly at its [...]
Time to plan your golden getaway September 18, 2011 Deserted beaches, colourful fiestas, shopping meccas, or that perfect sunset – every destination opens up a world of golden opportunities. If exploring new places is your passion, the Preferred Rewards Gold Card from American Express can make your getaway even more rewarding. With the value of gold at an all time high, the Card now [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 16, 2011 BlackRock Amra Balic has joined the asset manager as the EMEA head of corporate governance and responsible investment. Balic joins BlackRock from Standard & Poor’s, where she was a director in European Corporate Credit Ratings, responsible for corporate governance into the credit ratings process. Prior to joining S&P’s Corporate Governance Services team in 2000, Balic [...]
Moody’s: UK bank ratings safe for now September 14, 2011 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s said proposals from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) to ring-fence the retail operations of UK banks and get them to hold more capital would not lead to any immediate rating changes on the sector. Moody’s said, however, that the ICB’s proposals would have a negative impact in the longer-term for [...]
PUBS WAR CAN WAIT AS JOE LEWIS EXPECTS NEW GREAT-GRANDCHILD September 14, 2011 ALL EYES remain on financier Joe Lewis, whose surprise appearance in London on his superyacht Aviva ten days ago has been satisfactorily explained by this week’s hostile move to take control of pub chain Mitchells & Butlers. Case closed. Or is it? As ever with the enigmatic Bahamas-based billionaire, the truth is rather more surprising [...]
Look East to the new destination for pilgrims who shop September 13, 2011 BORIS Johnson reached for the cultural high notes at the opening of Westfield Stratford City: boasting that the new shopping centre would trigger regeneration not seen in East London since the Middle Ages, he quoted Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which Madam Eglantine the Prioress spoke French “after the school of Stratford-at-Bow, for French of Paris [...]
Stratford is a smooth retail experience September 13, 2011 I GREW up in a suburb of Boston, USA, where the only places to shop were malls. Despite America’s reputation as a shopping paradise, these were terribly dreary places, department store complexes off highways. Sure, you could pick up a washing machine, get your ears pierced, eat a Cinnabon and buy a sixpack of white [...]
Mall brings fresh hope to struggling UK shopkeepers September 13, 2011 RETAILERS nationwide are facing tough conditions as the economy slows down, but Westfield will transform trade across Stratford and the wider borough, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Retail is currently hard hit. ONS figures for the year to the end of July 2011 show zero growth in the volume of sales. Footfall across [...]